Sophie Bryan is Senior Manager, Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative for The Pew Charitable Trusts. In this role she develops and leads strategies to leverage Pew’s in-depth research and analysis to inform and drive responsive action by local policymakers on key issues affecting the city of Philadelphia, ranging from housing to the opioid crisis to fiscal health and economic development. She is also responsible for external stakeholder engagement strategy and oversees the newly created policy team.

Previously, she was Executive Director of Philadelphia VIP, a nonprofit that recruits, trains, and supports 1,500-plus volunteer attorneys to provide free legal representation to low-income Philadelphians on civil legal matters (housing, family, income, economic development). Prior to overseeing operations at Philadelphia VIP, Sophie was Program Director for Invest Health at Reinvestment Fund. Sophie was responsible for the overall management of the Invest Health initiative and provided day-to-day oversight focused on team management, program delivery, and quality control. Prior to joining Reinvestment Fund in 2016, Sophie held a series of positions at the School District of Philadelphia, most recently the Chief External Relations Officer, where she was responsible for developing and implementing strategic advocacy, government relations, external engagement, and communications plans to support the School District’s strategic priorities.

Sophie’s prior experience includes serving as Chief of Staff to a Philadelphia City Councilman, in which role she focused on budgetary issues, tax policy, ethics and campaign finance reform, and reforming the City’s real estate assessment and taxation system. Before joining local government, Sophie practiced law for eight years, primarily in the legal services field where she represented low-income clients, first in Boston and then in Philadelphia. Sophie served for five years as an adjunct professor at the Drexel University Kline School of Law, teaching an upper-level writing course. She is the Board Co-Chair for the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project. A native Philadelphian, Sophie graduated with honors from Harvard College, with a BA in History and Science, and from Harvard Law School.