Senior Director of Programs, Democracy at Work Institute 

Shevanthi is Senior Director of Programs at The Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI). She serves as a member of DAWI’s executive team and provides strategic support to programs on implementation and growth for DAWI's business conversion work with city municipalities, technical assistance providers, legacy business owners and consulting services. As a think-and-do-tank, DAWI brings on-the-ground experience with cooperative business to a birds-eye view of the national stage. Shevanthi came to DAWI after successfully launching and implementing worker cooperative management certificate programs, as well as a city focused cooperative education and incubation program at the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship. 

Shevanthi is passionate about the intersection of sustainable business and economic development with particular emphasis on direct impacts for people of color. Before entering into the worker ownership sector, she led large-scale labor organizing and worker justice campaigns with SEIU1199 NW and organized social justice leadership programs in rural and urban centers across the country. Shevanthi co-founded the O’Dell Education Center, a nonviolent direct action and leadership academy in Washington State, owned and operated by the Institute for Community Leadership. She currently serves on the board of Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) and served as Executive Board President at the Center for Women in Democracy, strengthening women's capacity and leadership in the public and private sectors. Shevanthi has an MBA in Sustainable Business from Pinchot University and BA in History and Anthropology from University of Washington.