Rate My Professor Jodi Sandfort

Jodi Sandfort serves as Dean and Professor at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, University of Washington, a position she assumed in January 2021. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan's joint program in Political Science and Social Work in 1997, an M.S.W. from the University of Michigan School of Social Work in 1994, and a B.A. magna cum laude from Vassar College in 1990. Previously, Sandfort was a professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, where she founded the Future Services Institute to support government redesign of programs and services and served as academic director of the Hubert Project, developing multimedia learning materials for public policy education. In the early 2000s, she directed the human services program at the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, managing a $20 million annual giving portfolio, and worked as a senior strategy consultant and trainer for foundations, nonprofit associations, think tanks, and human service organizations. She was also a Family Self-Sufficiency Scholar funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Sandfort's scholarship focuses on improving the implementation of social policies, particularly those supporting low-income children and families, including design science, policy implementation, social welfare systems, organizational effectiveness, early childhood education, welfare reform, nonprofit management, and philanthropy. She employs participatory methods and human-centered design to activate others and address systemic biases. Notable publications include the book Effective Implementation in Practice: Integrating Public Policy and Management (2015, Jossey-Bass, with Stephanie Moulton); 'Replication or Innovation? Structuration in Policy Implementation' (2020, Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, with Stephanie Moulton); and 'The Impact of Nonprofit Collaboration in Early Care and Education on Management and Program Outcomes' (2006, Public Administration Review, with Sally Coleman Selden and Jessica Sowa). An elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, she serves on its national board and editorial boards of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, and American Review of Public Administration. Awards include a Fulbright Fellowship (2020), Dugan Research Award (2019), Gary C. Cornia Award (2019), and Outstanding Faculty Award, University of Minnesota (2011). At the Evans School, she oversees a $13.8 million budget, leads the Evans Policy Innovation Collaborative, and co-leads a university initiative on democracy and civic health.