Safia assists the Commissioner of Corrections in agency-wide management and policy making efforts and directs implementation of strategic priorities. She oversees the work of various DOC units including Finance, Grants and Subsidies, Legislative Affairs, Policy and Rulemaking, Equity, Access, and Inclusion, Tribal Relations, Research, Planning, and Performance Measurement, and Project Management Center of Excellence. She has previously held the roles of Assistant Commissioner and Government and External Relations Director for the Department.
Prior to joining the DOC, Safia was the Director of Policy and Programming for the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW), where she worked on public policy pertaining to gender-based violence within Minnesota’s criminal and legal justice systems. She also conducted research for and authored MCBW’s annual Domestic Violence Homicide Report. Safia received her B.A. in Political Science from Denison University, where she was a fellow of the Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service. She is fluent in Urdu and English.
