Sheida Isabel Elmi (she/her/ella) is an Associate Director at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, where she helps lead research, drive strategy, and direct staffing for the Insights and Evidence team. Where possible, she advances a Person-Centered Insights methodology that elevates people’s lived experiences to inform policy, programmatic, and product solutions to improve family financial well-being. Her research illuminates the financial challenges and opportunities facing families today, on topics including public benefits access and design, financial shocks and short-term savings, financial and climate resilience, and direct cash. Previously, Sheida was an Associate Manager with The Pew Charitable Trusts. There, she led in-depth interviews and focus groups and conducted quantitative analyses related to income volatility, financial instability, and wages and benefits. Before that, she was a Research Analyst at MEF Associates, where she helped evaluate federal programs aimed at promoting economic security through higher education, matched-savings accounts, and employment and training programs.
Sheida holds a Master of Public Policy degree from UC Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies from Northwestern University. She is on the Adolescent Development Policy Council hosted by the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent and a member of the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice. Originally from Chicagoland, she now calls Denver, Colorado home.
