Sadia Sindhu

Sadia Sindhu is the Executive Director of the Center for Effective Government (CEG), a research center housed at the Harris School of Public Policy dedicated to strengthening democratic institutions and improving the capacity of government to solve public problems. In this role, Sadia partners with the faculty director to articulate a vision, set strategy, initiate key partnerships, and ensure operational excellence across all domains of the center. Since launching the Center, she has launched programmatic initiatives, including the Democracy Reform Primer Series, bespoke executive leadership seminars with Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago City Council, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and media partnerships with the Associated Press, NPR’s WBEZ, Chicago Sun-Times, Washington Post, and Crain’s Chicago. She has cultivated key partnerships within and beyond the University to grow existing programs such as the Civic Leadership Academy. Sadia regularly partners with leading scholars to support scholarship and domestic and international academic conferences, including the annual American Politics Conference. Sadia has written op-eds in the Crain’s Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times and has served as a panelist or moderator on events focused on democracy for a variety of audiences, ranging from the University of Chicago to the Sundance Film Festival. 

Prior to co-launching the Center, Sadia held strategic roles in both public and private sectors. She served as the director of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy prior to its integration with CEG, where she led program strategy and growth, engaging with over 300 alumni to launch initiatives like the Institutional Reform Capstone projects and Civic Practitioner Leadership Series. Previously, as Assistant Director at the Booth School of Business, she managed strategic engagement with C-suite leaders from over 75 companies and led fourteen annual global brand-building events. Sadia also worked as a management consultant at Human Capital Research Corporation, advising senior University leadership on enrollment management and strategic planning. She began her career as an investment banking analyst at Rothschild Investment Bank in New York City. 

Sadia is a Fellow in the second class of the Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She currently serves on the Research Advisory Council for the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that strives for a more effective federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and transforming the way government works. Sadia is an inaugural member of the Vote is Sacred Thought Leaders Organizing Committee, a national, multi-year, nonpartisan civic engagement initiative led by Interfaith America. She serves as an advisor to Keseb, a nonpartisan, pro-democracy nonprofit organization. Sadia served on the board of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a national American Muslim advocacy organization dedicated to improving public understanding and policies that impact American Muslims by engaging government, media, and communities. She received an MS in higher education policy from Northwestern University and a BSFS in international politics from Georgetown University.