Shakir was born to Iraqi immigrants, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

She has also served briefly in a fellowship and entry-level position at the Aspen Institute and USAID.

[3] From 2012 to 2017, she served as a manager at Google.org (the division of Google responsible for charitable work).

[5] She was named one of the 'Nine Women Shaping Venture Capital’s Today' by Wall Street Journal and as one of the '30 Leaders Under 40 in Healthcare' by Business Insider.

[8] Deena Shakir serves on the board of Maven Clinic, SteadyMD, Alife Health, Shiru, Allstripes, adyn, and H1.