AUSTIN, Texas – Shamina Singh, an alumna from The University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School, will be back on the Forty Acres on May 11 to deliver the graduation address to the class of 2024 at her alma mater.
“I am honored to deliver this year’s commencement address,” said Shamina Singh, founder and president, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “My years at The University of Texas taught me a lot about the importance of connection, partnership and purpose. They have influenced an approach to combining the assets of the public and private sectors to drive impact and address global challenges. I am excited to address the class of 2024 and am confident that these graduates will change the world.”
Shamina Singh is the founder and president of Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth and the Executive Vice President of Sustainability at Mastercard. For more than 20 years, she has been on the frontlines of equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world.
“We are honored to welcome Shamina Singh to address our graduating class,” said JR DeShazo, dean of the LBJ School. “With her extensive experience in both government and the private sector, Shamina's insights promise to inspire and resonate with our graduates as they embark on their own journeys of impact and service."
Currently, Shamina currently serves as a member of the President’s Export Council, the principal national advisory committee on international trade. She also sits on the board of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, Texas and co-chairs the Ad Council of America’s Advisory Committee. She serves on the advisory boards of several organizations, including The Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship; the New York Department of Financial Services Innovation Advisory Board; and the CGAP Financial Inclusion Initiative.
Notably, Shamina has been named to American Banker’s Most Influential Women in Payments, Financial Times’ Top 100 LGBT+ Executives, and is a member of the Asian American Hall of Fame. Recently, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth was named as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2024, in the Corporate Social Responsibility space.
Deeply committed to public service, Shamina has held senior positions in the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. Shamina was Executive Director for the historic first President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which was created by Executive Order in 1999 and has been renewed by each President since. In 2015, Shamina was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a six-year term on the Board of AmeriCorps, a $1B independent agency that places more than 270,000 volunteers with social sector organizationsacross the U.S. She served as Chair for two years.
Shamina is a lifelong learner who has studied at Harvard, Yale, Stanford and the Indian School of Business. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University and a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas, Austin. She received an Alumni of Distinction award from both institutions. Shamina is also a Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute and a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum.
During the ceremony, Singh will address a crowd of approximately 750 people, including 150 graduates and their guests. These students will have earned master’s degrees in Public Affairs (MPAff) and Global Policy Studies (MGPS), an Executive Master’s in Public Leadership (EMPL), and Ph.D.’s in public policy.
The LBJ School graduation ceremony will take place before the university-wide commencement ceremony in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The UT-wide ceremony will also include the conferring of degrees by President Jay Hartzell, the traditional lighting of the Tower in orange to honor graduates, and a fireworks display.
Singh is the fifth LBJ alumnus to speak at the LBJ School's Commencement. Previous alumni speakers include:
- 1999, Kenneth S. Apfel, U.S. Commissioner of Social Security (MPAff '78)
- 2012, Bill Owens, Former Governor of Colorado (MPAff '75)
- 2016, Laura Huffman, state director, Nature Conservancy of Texas (MPAff '91)
- 2023, Jaime Lizárraga, a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (MPAff ‘90)
For more on Shamina:
- Shamina shares her view on measuring social impact (2023)
- Shamina Singh receives the LBJ School’s top alumni honor (2021)
- Celebrating AAPI Month with Shamina Singh (2021)
###