Ramsey County names Dr. Michael Soto as Director of Policy and Administrative Strategy
Dr. Michael Soto joins the Ramsey County Manager’s Office next week to serve as the Director of the Policy and Administrative Strategy division.
In this role, Soto will oversee countywide strategic planning and support countywide strategic alignment in areas such as racial equity, policy development and performance management. His leadership will support continuous improvement and community-centered planning, and will also ensure quantitative and qualitative research, evaluation and analysis are conducted to support county operations by providing data-informed and equity-centered supports to county leadership.
Soto brings two decades of experience across government, nonprofits, academia and entrepreneurship. He joins Ramsey County from Hennepin County, where his team conducted equity-informed analytics for housing, health, economic development and justice initiatives. He also managed the Enterprise Integrated Data System (EIDS), which integrates more than 20 data sources to support cross-departmental evaluation and insights.
At Hennepin, Soto supported technical staff in refining research questions, launching pilot initiatives and aligning their work with countywide goals. He also helped build a high-trust, high-performing team culture by redesigning onboarding processes, expanding professional development and launching talent and intern pipelines.
“Michael brings a unique combination of strategic insight, technical expertise and collaborative leadership,” Chief of Staff Maria Sarabia said. “His experience driving people-centered data strategies and building strong teams will enhance our ability to shape policies that reflect community needs.”
Soto is known for fostering cross-sector collaboration and sparking opportunities through strategic relationship building. He champions mixed-methods evaluation and equity-centered strategies to improve transparency, service delivery and government efficiency.