Executive Director, Capacity Catalyst
Saro Mohammed (she/her), PhD, fights the injustice of knowledge-hoarding by deeply and meaningfully connecting research and practice to improve lives. As a member of the communities she serves, Saro is co-creating a data-just world in which individuals and communities are the primary owners and beneficiaries of their data, including their lived experiences. In this future, each person knows and understands their experiences and the outcomes that they are most interested in, and can use this knowledge about their experience to access supports, resources, and opportunities, to achieve their desired life outcomes and their most personally meaningful potential. As Executive Director of Capacity Catalyst she leads the organization’s core programs: a high touch, mentored, social sector externship; and, in partnership with MEASURE, Huston-Tillotson University, and others, the Community-Engaged Research Course. She is Founder + Principal of Ed Research Works, a consulting firm; and a Lecturer of social justice informatics at UT-Austin’s School of Information. With over 15 years’ experience as a researcher, evaluator, and advisor, Saro conceptualized the Just Ed Research design principles in 2020. Saro holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from UT-Austin, and a Bachelor of Science in brain and cognitive sciences from MIT.