Silvie Senauke

Silvie Senauke is the Director of Strategic Operations at the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL), where she leads initiatives that help translate vision into practice. She works across the organization to strengthen the strategy, systems, and internal infrastructure that support fellows and managers in delivering the GPL’s technical assistance to state and local government partners.

Prior to this role, Silvie was the Senior Director of Strategy, Policy, and Equity for the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services. There she led cross-functional teams responsible for strategic planning, performance management, process improvement, and policy advocacy. Earlier in her career, she served as a GPL Fellow and Project Leader leading projects in Washington State and Chicago on connecting child welfare involved families to early learning supports, supporting families experiencing homelessness, launching a direct cash assistance program, and designing a new youth violence prevention program. Silvie holds a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University. She is based in Chicago.