person

Sabrina Hersi Issa

Sabrina Hersi Issa is a human rights technologist and angel investor committed to leveraging innovation as a tool to unlock opportunity and dignity for all. She does this through her work in technology, media and investments. 

Sabrina leads Be Bold Media, a global strategy and innovation agency that works with companies and organizations on strategic transformation initiatives, scaling teams, global growth, policy innovation and movement-building. The agency also produces the Movement Security Summit, a digital security summit for movement technologists. 

She organizes Rights x Tech, a forum for technologists and activists to explicitly explore the intersections of technology and power. She leads The People’s Iftar, a campaign to gather community and raise funds for grassroots organizations serving Muslim communities. She created the Bold Prize

Sabrina is the founder of Survivor Fund, a political fund focused on championing the rights of survivors of sexual violence and building political power for survivors. She’s a contributor to the anthology Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World. 

Presently, Sabrina is an opinion contributor for NBC News on technology, power and human potential. As a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, Sabrina worked on issues related to technology, human rights and humanitarian disasters. She’s advised philanthropy and impact funds on strategic investments to improve diversity in media, civic engagement and healthcare. She has worked for Afghans for Civil Society, Oxfam America, NBC News and National Public Radio. She was a co-founder of End Famine and created #HackingHunger hackathon series. Sabrina is a graduate of Ohio State University where she studied International Relations & Diplomacy, Political Science and Women Studies.


Read Q&A with Sabrina:

What is your research focus?

Policy recommendations to address the intersectional impacts of COVID on communities of color. 

How do you plan to change the world?

I am building a world where we all get to thrive. 

What is an interesting fact about yourself?

I have never had a pet!  

What is music/film/art that represents who you are?

Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for my Journey Now.