#JesuitEducated Reflection: Shira Shafir ‘99
When I started at LMU in 1995 I got a lot of questions about being a Jewish girl at a Jesuit school. But from the moment that I stepped on the campus of LMU, I knew that it was the right place for me. The combination of a high-quality education and commitment to social justice was exactly what I was looking for. After graduating, that same commitment to social justice lead me to pursue a graduate degree in Public Health in order to affect change on a population level rather than one person at a time. Following my formal education, I began a career in academia in order to share that knowledge with students to be able to implement change on an even larger level.
But in 2013, when I had the opportunity to work at TOMS, a One for One company, I knew I had the chance to help make a really enormous impact. TOMS has given 45 million pairs of shoes to children in need around the world, and helped restore sight to 325,000 people and I couldn’t wait to play a part in facilitating the Giving process. My role at TOMS is two-fold: impact assessment — where I look at the results of the Giving Program to ensure that people’s lives improve when customers buy our products; and social innovation — where I explore ways to advance the company’s philanthropy and keep it effective.
My studies in biology at LMU taught me to think critically and reason using the scientific method. But it was my studies at LMU in theology and philosophy that were the foundation of it all and really helped me understand how to think, read and process information. For me, that is characteristic of Jesuit education and became enormously valuable in completing my Ph.D. And now a characteristic I utilize every day in the private sector.
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Shira Shafir, LMU ’99, is the Director of Social Innovation and Impact at TOMS, a One for One® company. Dr. Shafir is also an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, and former Assistant Vice Chancellor of Research at UCLA. She holds an MPH in infectious diseases from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Epidemiology from UCLA. Her postdoctoral training in global health was also done at UCLA.
