Community Based Research

Sagaree (they/them) is a researcher, writer, graduate student, poet, and one-time historian with two degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and a lifelong commitment to social justice in research. They grew up in the Silicon Valley and attended UC Berkeley for History with a minor in English, where they graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with honors.

After graduating, Sagaree received the John Gardner Fellowship to work for the international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW). During that time, they edited and compiled HRW’s Interview Manual along with Nisha Varia. In order to put together the manual, they conducted research on interviews with diverse groups, especially survivors of trauma, and gathered feedback from expert reviewers as well as survivors of human rights violations in three continents.

Sagaree holds up a white and blue document entitled "Human Rights Watch Interview Manual"

As part of their work with the HRW LGBT Division, Sagaree traveled to Malaysia to support research on HIV prevention and care for trans people. Along with Neela Ghoshal, they wrote an appeal for the Malaysian government to end conversion camps, published in Malaysiakini.

At the close of their Gardner fellowship, Sagaree received another fellowship from Global Health Corps to serve as a Research and Grants Associate for the Center for Health, Human Rights, and Development (CEHURD) in Kampala, Uganda. While at CEHURD, they mapped staff capacity in writing and developed monthly writing capacity building series, developed the Guide to Grants Writing for CEHURD, and compiled two 20- page reports and one 25- page academic article on topics of abortion access, HIV transmission in adolescent girls, and non-communicable diseases in Uganda.

A group of Ugandan and American Global Health Corps fellows hold up a Ugandan flag.

Sagaree then returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to earn their Masters in Public Health, again from the University of California at Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Sagaree worked with the Othering and Belonging Institute conducting interviews, facilitating workshops, and writing blog posts, presentations, and reports. At the close of their time at Berkeley, they began working as a freelance researcher and writer at a sliding scale. Their first project, with Richmond-based Safe Return Project, will begin in September. They offer the following services to nonprofits, foundations, and companies:

  • Research Projects

  • Curriculum Design and Trainings

  • Grantwriting and Report Writing 

  • Community- Based Evaluation 

  • Poetry, Arts Administration, and Creative Writing 

  • Freelance Writing

Interested in contacting Sagaree to collaborate on a project? Try the Contact Me page.

Portfolio