Before joining MAD in 2023, Shamsa Dhayow worked as a campaign manager, developing and executing campaign strategies, outlining policy positions, and coordinating with stakeholders, community organizations, and volunteers to build coalitions and engage voters. She was also a policy and program fellow at the Committee of Seventy, where she played a key role in managing the implementation of a new strategic planning methodology for civic engagement, and a program evaluator for JEVS Human Services, leading a team to conduct a longitudinal program evaluation. One of the most impactful projects Shamsa led was with the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development, spanning Nairobi, Kenya, and Baidoa, Somalia, in which she assessed psychosocial support services for gender-based violence victims, designed research instruments, and proposed recommendations for stigma reduction and service improvement.
Shamsa has worked in government roles at both the local and state levels: she served as a constituents affairs and community advocacy professional at the Office of New York State Assembly District 30 in Queens, New York; a legal assistant at the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office in Minneapolis; and as the campaign manager for a Minneapolis City Council candidate.
Shamsa specializes in delivering innovative, data-driven solutions that address the specific needs of underserved communities in areas such as public health, civic engagement, and community development.
Some of Shamsa’s early projects include the following:
Educational background
Shamsa has a master’s of Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, where her coursework included quantitative methods for public policy, program evaluation, financial management of government and nonprofit organizations, and leadership. She earned a bachelor of science in sociology with a concentration in policy analysis from the University of Minnesota.
