Washington, Nov 06: Indian-American Sonal Shah, an
eminent economist who heads Google's philanthropic arm, has
been appointed an advisory board member by US President-elect
Barack Obama to assist his team in smooth transition of power.
40-year-old Shah is part of a panel comprising
individuals with significant private and public sector
experience who will offer their expertise in their respective
fields to Obama's transition team, US media reported today.
She along with other members of the advisory board will
help the transition team headed by former White House chief of
staff John Podesta, longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett,
and Pete Rouse, the President-elect's Senate chief of staff.
Shah, who was named the 'Person of the Year 2003' by
'India Abroad' publication, currently works for Google.org on
their Global Development team, where she is engaged in
defining their global development strategy and promoting the
firm's philanthropy work.
Prior to joining Google, she was Vice President at
Goldman, Sachs and Co. and developed and implemented its
environmental strategy. She has also served as the Associate
Director for Economic and National Security Policy at the
Centre for American Progress, where she worked on trade,
outsourcing and post-conflict reconstruction issues.
In the past, she also worked with the Department of
Treasury on various economic issues and regions of the world.
Shah is the co-founder of the US-based non-profit
organisation Indicorps which offers one-year fellowships for
Indian-origin Americans to work on specific development
projects in India.
Her father moved from Gujarat to New York in 1970 and she
along with her sister and mother joined him in 1972. She also
has a brother.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 06, 2008, 00:00