March 6, 2023 — San Diego
American Jewish Committee (AJC) has named Holocaust and genocide expert Sara E. Brown as director of its new San Diego Regional Office.
Brown will represent AJC as the organization expands its presence in Southern California and the Southwest. AJC San Diego is the 25th U.S. regional office for AJC, the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people.
“Sara’s deep well of experience will make her an immediate asset to AJC and the local Jewish community,” said AJC Chief Field Operations Officer Melanie Maron Pell. “She is already immersed in many of our core issues and her expertise will be invaluable.”
Brown holds a Ph.D. in comparative genocide studies from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. She was the Executive Director of the Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education, and managed post-secondary education programming for USC Shoah Foundation.
Brown has also worked at the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, conducted genocide-related research in Rwanda, and served as a project coordinator in refugee camps in Tanzania.
“With rising antisemitism in the U.S and around the globe, AJC’s advocacy is needed more than ever to build a brighter Jewish future,” Brown said. “AJC confronts antisemitism by mobilizing policymakers to act, educating all sectors of society to address Jew-hatred, and empowering Jews to be strong and resilient.”
As an academic, Brown has taught courses on history, human rights, and mass violence around the globe, including at San Diego State University, and is widely published in news outlets and academic journals.
She is the author of Gender and the Genocide in Rwanda: Women as Perpetrators and Rescuers and the co-editor of the Routledge Handbook on Religion, Mass Atrocity, and Genocide. Brown has also consulted for several organizations, including the United Nations, Aegis Trust, and Common Circles.
Brown lives in San Diego with her family.
