Simone Combs

Principal Analyst | City & Community Partnerships Team

Simone Combs knows the importance collaboration and data play in creating equitable and institutional systems changes to aid in the creation of new initiatives, programs, and projects resulting in positive transformation for our most vulnerable populations. At DCYF, Simone is focused on forging partnerships with City Departments, the School District, and Community Partners to positively impact San Francisco’s most historically disenfranchised populations. She regularly draws on her knowledge and experience of bringing people together, often from different sectors (like safety, housing, health, education, and workforce organizations), to work collaboratively towards common goals.

Simone began her career with the City and County of San Francisco in 2011 when she joined the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) as an intern. She eventually became the SFPUC’s only Contract & Budget Analyst, performing two jobs at once and overseeing complex contracts and operating budgets while also earning a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. A year after graduating, she joined the San Francisco Human Services Agency where she focused on outreach, marketing, mentorship and data initiatives and soon after joined the Our Children Our Families Council (OCOF) where she oversaw the Council’s data workstreams which regularly informed decision making in support of San Francisco’s most disenfranchised children and families.

What inspires you to do this work?

I hope to disrupt the status quo and help usher in the brightest possible future for our world.

DCYF’s tagline is “Making San Francisco a Great Place to Grow Up.” Do you believe this? Tell us why.

My mom grew up in San Francisco and it was a great place for young Black kids at that time. She was able to start working part time and earn her own money by age 14 and she loved going to school not just for academics, but also to take fun cultural classes like African Dance that helped her feel proud about her heritage.

Is there a song or anthem that inspires your grind and motivates you to serve our communities?

It’s a tie between “Formation” by Beyoncé and “Baggage Claim” by LaRussell.