This NYC official single-handedly supports the city's music industry and founded NY Music Month, reaching over 1.5M people!
In the world of government bureaucracy, true innovation is rare.
But sometimes a visionary emerges who can navigate red tape to create real change.
Meet Shira Gans, MPP: a government "intrapreneur" with a knack for spotting pressing social issues before they hit the mainstream.
What is her true superpower?
Creating tangible public good by creating real interpersonal connections.
As Senior Executive Director of Policy + Programs at NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Shira has made waves.
She established the first Office of Nightlife, founded NY Music Month, created music education programs, and launched a $10M grant fund for female creatives.
Oh, and she saved iconic recording studios along the way.
Shira doesn't wait for the official greenlight. She knows action prevails over stasis.
Case in point: During the 2008 financial crisis, Shira envisioned a groundbreaking program to bank the unbanked.
When her boss requested a report instead, she refused.
"Reports don't drive change," she said. "Action does."
The result?
12,000 new bank accounts for the unbanked and financial education for 800 underserved individuals.
But Shira's impact began long before her current role.
Farm-to-table cuisine?
She championed it a decade ago with community farmers markets.
Prison reform?
Right out of college, she fought for mental health care in CA prisons.
Her favorite Dostoevsky quote says it all:
"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons."
In other words, Shira doesn't just identify problems – she constructs solutions.
Colleagues describe her as having a "preternatural ability" to drive change.
And she does this by building consensus where none existed, and selling her vision like a seasoned diplomat with self-deprecating humor.
In Shira's world, there's no such thing as "it can't be done."
There are only innovative solutions waiting to be discovered.
And she's just getting started.
At the most recent NY Music Month conference, she announced her most groundbreaking solution yet:
Seed funding for a public undergraduate music business degree at CUNY.
What could you accomplish if you stopped waiting for someone else's green light?
The views expressed in this profile do not necessarily represent the views of the agency or the City.
