MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: SARA SURFACE

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

Hey! I’m Sara. I’m the Director of Civil Rights Testing for a DC based non-profit called the Equal Rights Center. I send in ‘secret shoppers’ (testers) to see if discrimination is happening in different markets – like in housing, employment, or at government agencies or businesses. Sometimes we can use testing results in court cases, or publish studies about what we found, or use the information to apply public pressure around a certain issue.

What do you love most about the work?

Testing is almost never boring – from trying to figure out how to investigate a particular business to thinking through how testing data might be able to change the conversation around a certain issue  - it’s all exciting. I like being in a position where I am constantly problem solving.

How did you arrive at this place?  What’s your backstory?

A tale as old as time – I worked as an unpaid intern at a non-profit in Richmond until they could find the money to pay me. I stayed there for several years and learned all the ropes of fair housing investigations. Eventually, though, I wanted to have more leadership opportunities and applied to work at the next closest sibling org, which happened to be in DC (they’re few and far between!).

Has there been a light switch moment, a turning point, professionally &/or personally along the way?

I used to do sexual violence prevention & response work. At a certain point, it began to click for me that I couldn't think about addressing gender violence without looking at other forms of oppression, especially racism. Now I consider holding businesses accountable for many kinds of discrimination as part of the fabric of violence prevention work.

What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

While there’s a lot of fair housing testing organizations nationwide, we’re the only non-profit in the country that does employment testing. I’m currently pitching projects to funders and getting really excited thinking about the impact we could have.

What is the single most important thing to you in your work each day?

Honestly, coffee.  But seriously, I can’t do this work without taking care of myself, so coffee, food, and walking breaks are crucial.

Anything we missed, closing thoughts?

I’m new to the area - I hope you’ll say hey if you see me around. Also, I just joined Rocky Top and would love some climbing buddies!