Scholar Profile
Sarah Deonarain
International Development
Biography
Sarah Deonarain is a Ph.D. Candidate at Columbia University in History, with a specialization in colonial/postcolonial Latin American, Caribbean, and South Asian histories, working across Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Hindi-language sources and literatures. As a visual, cultural, and social historian, Sarah's interests span connections between Atlantic and Indian Ocean histories, imperial history, identity and state formation, and race, ethnicity, and migration.
She graduated from Harvard University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Ethnic Studies, and Spanish.
Sarah has worked at the intersection of international development, impact finance, and consulting through her role at Dalberg Advisors, where she co-led the Education Finance Network (EFN), worked with numerous large foundations and philanthropies, and supported various nonprofits, museums, and government agencies and ministries. Prior to this, Sarah volunteered with the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Santiago, Chile, where she lived abroad on multiple prestigious postgraduate fellowships, and previously interned with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Immigration Center for Women and Children, and Massachusetts State House.
A passionate storyteller, Sarah explores narratives of the South Asian diaspora and global migrant communities through writing and film. She aims to develop innovative, research-driven approaches to issues of development, human rights, and transnational justice.
High school: Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
Degrees
| College | Year | Degree |
|---|---|---|
Harvard CollegeCambridge, MA |
2023 | A.B. Economics |
News and Highlights
Women in Leadership: Sarah Deonarain, MS ’19, was selected for the 2022 Fitzie Award which recognizes and rewards outstanding young women from Harvard College, the Harvard Business School, Tenacre Country Day School and Dana Hall School, institutions that Fitzie Grogan Petersmeyer attended. Sarah joins an ever-growing network of past winners and Foundation supporters and she received a monetary grant which will assist in her career development. Previous awardees have used their funding to travel and live abroad, which is one of Sarah’s top priorities upon graduation! You can learn more about the award here.