Sabrina Hersi Issa is the CEO of Be Bold Media, a digital agency focused on global advocacy that produces Relief Hack, a hackathon series to build and improve technology tools used for humanitarian relief and Vanguard, a global donor engagement program. She is the co-founder of End Famine, a campaign dedicated to developing sustainable solutions to hunger, food security and humanitarian assistance. Sabrina organizes Rights x Tech, a gathering for technologists and activists and runs Survivor Fund, a political fund dedicated to supporting the rights of survivors of sexualized violence.
She curates New/s Disruptors, a project working to re-frame the narrative of digital disruption in journalism to champion the experiences and contributions of diverse voices. Previously, Sabrina was a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute where she worked on issues related to technology, human rights and humanitarian disasters. She has worked for Afghans for Civil Society, Oxfam America, NBC News and National Public Radio stations.
Sabrina was named to Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 list of the country’s most powerful Black Americans. She was listed on Forbes Magazine Top 30 under 30 for Law & Policy and profiled in several follow-up Forbes features on millennial leadership, technology and social entrepreneurship. The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society in Deauville, France named her a Rising Talent, a special distinction for women leaders in global business and society. She was named a finalist for the Rising Star award from Women in Technology and the Women’s Media Center Social Media Award. She was awarded the Women’s Information Network’s Young Women of Achievement Award for Social Innovation for her work in technology and media. She’s been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, National Public Radio, The Guardian (US), Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Nation, Colorlines, Levo League, Columbia Journalism Review and other outlets. Washingtonian Magazine named her a Woman to Watch as part of it’s annual Most Powerful Women issue.
Sabrina is a graduate of Ohio State University where she studied International Relations & Diplomacy, Political Science and Women Studies. She is a Truman National Security Partner, advises human rights tech organization The African Future. Sabrina sits on the board of directors of Exhale Pro-Voice and NARAL Pro-Choice America. She was formerly the President of the Board of Directors for Women, Action & the Media and served on the board of Web of Change and the Project on Middle East Democracy. She speaks Somali, Italian, Arabic and Turkish.