Dr. Jodi Sandfort

Jodi Sandfort is Dean of the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington. Her work focuses on improving the implementation of social policy, particularly those policies designed to support low-income children and their families. Her leadership uses participatory methods to activate others to address systemic biases that are reproduced through practices and processes.

At the Evans School, she leads the staff and faculty, overseeing the operation of our $15 million budget in alignment with our mission. She has a deep commitment to ensuring that public universities engage their regions to both create value in supporting problem solving and substantially expand pathways into public service. Dean Sandfort brings a background in human centered design that is helping the school to center community voice in policy and implementation. She has led the creation of the Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) that provides a platform for engagement and innovation and is currently co-leading a University of Washington initiative on democracy and civic health. Since she arrived in Seattle, she also has focused her attention on developing a range of new under-graduate initiatives and new professional educational programs at the School.

Formerly a professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, she was the founder of the Future Services Institute that supported government redesign of programs and services.