Sarabajaya Kumar

Dr Sarabajaya Kumar is a part-time Associate Professor (Teaching) in Voluntary Sector Policy and Leadership at the UCL School of Public Policy. She joined UCL in 2010 after previous roles at the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, and The Open University. Her academic work focuses on accountability, governance, ethical leadership, intersectionality, and equality, with a particular emphasis on disability rights and social justice.

• Education: MSc and PhD in Public Policy and Management; interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in Sociology and Religion

Her research spans public policy, disability studies, and equality. Notable projects include studies on disabled students' pandemic experiences, ableism in the labor market, and intersectional impacts of the Coronavirus on marginalized groups. She collaborates with institutions like Osaka University and UCL’s Institute of Education.

Recent publications highlight her expertise in public-private partnerships, NGO accountability, and pandemic-driven health and social care protocols. These works engage with themes of intersectionality, chronic conditions, and institutional governance.

• Scientific award: Butterfield Award in Medicine and Health (Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation)

As a disability rights activist and social entrepreneur, she advises the Bar Standards Board, co-leads the Third Sector Innovation Network and 100 in 10 Project, and serves on steering committees for the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Women’s Budget Group, and Women’s Equality Party. She contested the 2021 GLA election as a disabled candidate for the Women’s Equality Party.