Shamoiya Washington is the state and local government affairs senior manager at the Urban Institute. She conducts strategic outreach to state and local policymakers, government agencies, and public stakeholders on behalf of researchers at Urban. Before joining Urban, Washington gained experience working and communicating with elected officials in Sacramento, California. Most recently, she was the government affairs manager for Anthem, Inc., following her time as a legislative aide in the California State Senate. Washington developed her early career working in the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, and she studied at the University of Southern California.