Sandhya Rani Jha, MPP, MDiv

Sandhya Jha is a PhD student at the School of Social Policy and Practice. Their areas of interest include the impact of grassroots social movements on public policy and engaging the intersection of race and class in developing models of deep democracy and governance. They are grateful to be a Presidential Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sandhya holds a bachelor of arts in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Divinity and Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Prior to beginning their PhD, Sandhya engaged in advocacy and organizing around religious liberty, housing justice, labor justice, and violence reduction in Washington, DC and then Oakland, California. They have published books on race and religion, effective community organizing strategies, and the role of connecting with ancestors as a tool in the work of dismantling systems of oppression.