Participation and Innovation in America

Sonal Shah heads the White House Domestic Policy Council’s Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation (SICP). She also served on President Obama’s Transition Board overseeing the Technology, Innovation, Government Reform working group. Prior to joining the White House, Sonal led Google.org’s global development efforts, focusing on transparency, openness, and civic participation, as well as growing small and medium sized enterprises. Before her time at Google, she was Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where she developed and implemented the firm’s environmental strategy. Sonal also co-founded and directed Indicorps, a U.S.-based non-profit offering fellowships for Indian-Americans to work on development projects in India. Prior to that, she worked on trade, outsourcing and post-conflict reconstruction issues at the Center for American Progress, and developed and managed policy and advocacy programs for the Center for Global Development. She previously worked in the federal government from 1995-2002, first at the Treasury Department and later detailed to the National Security Council. Sonal received her MA in Economics from Duke University and BA in Economics from the University of Chicago. She is an Aspen Crown Fellow, Next Generation Fellow.