Payal Shah
Payal Shah is a Master of Public Policy student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a focus on Social Policy and Inequality and Social Entrepreneurship. For her MPP summer internship, she worked full-time as a Program Associate for MDC Inc. in Durham, North Carolina. Prior to joining the 2025 MPP cohort, Payal earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Political Science from UNC Chapel Hill. During her undergraduate studies, she explored various avenues, including the intersection of data and advocacy.
Payal is passionate about housing policy, economic mobility, education policy, welfare policy, addressing the opioid epidemic in the US, and social justice. After graduation, she hopes to work as a policy analyst in rural community development.