Sadia Sindhu 

Executive Director, Center for Effective Government 

Sadia Sindhu is the founding executive director of the University of Chicago Center for Effective Government (CEG), a nonpartisan research center housed at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. CEG was founded with an ambitious but vital mission: to strengthen democratic institutions and improve the capacity of government to solve public problems. CEG centers scholarship in conversations on institutional reform in the broader context of strengthening our democracy: conversations that bring together myriad stakeholders and transcend stark differences to achieve our ultimate goal of a flourishing democracy and effective government. Key initiatives include the Civic Leadership Academy, the Data and Democracy Iniatitive, Not Another Politics Podcast, and a series of academic conferences and media partnerships. 

Sadia has served in a variety of strategic roles in the public and private sectors, including the director of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy, prior to its integration with CEG. Sadia is a Fellow in the second class of the Civil Society Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She 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.

Sadia has previously held roles at Rothschild Global Advisory, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Human Capital Research Corporation. Sadia previously served on the national board of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and chaired the organization’s board-level policy committee.

She received an MS in higher education policy from Northwestern University and a BSFS in international politics from Georgetown University. Sadia lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.