Shana Owens is chief of staff at Omidyar Network, where she works with the CEO, board of directors, and executive leadership team to define strategic and operational priorities.

Prior to joining Omidyar network, Shana was associate partner at IBM, serving as chief of staff advising and supporting the general manager of IBM’s $1 billion US Federal Services business. In this capacity, Shana crafted growth strategies, executed top unit priorities, led communications, and served as an operational liaison for the sector’s 2900+ employees. During her time at IBM, Shana also served as chief of staff to the vice president of HR for one of the company’s strategic acquisitions and was a senior managing consultant in the Talent & Transformation Practice within IBM’s Global Business Services organization.

Before that, Shana was a senior human capital consultant & project manager at the Advisory Board, a best practice research firm, where she led numerous studies focused on strategic alignment, process design, operational efficiency, workforce planning, and performance management. In both roles, Shana developed and presented methodological recommendations to organizational stakeholders and federal clients—including the US Army and the US Office of Personnel Management—as well as numerous higher education institutions, hospitals, and health systems.

Shana received her MBA with a concentration on Organizational Development and Behavior from the George Washington University, and her Masters in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. Her Master’s thesis was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Law & Human Behavior. Shana earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California.