Savannah Badalich

Savannah is a community organizer and digital strategist working at the intersection of human rights and technology, with a specific focus on safety, trust, and inclusion on Internet platforms.

She currently works as a program manager at Civic Hall Labs – a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the application of technology for public good and helping others do the same. Savannah leads the civic accelerator, CivicXcel, which provides civically minded professionals, activists, and entrepreneurs with hands-on training on using technology and design thinking to create a solution to a social issue.

She also attends Columbia University’s Institute on the Study of Human Rights MA program with a concentration on the intersection of violence, human rights, and the Internet. Her thesis research explores how white women are normalized and radicalized to white supremacy on online platforms. Savannah was was one of fifteen participants selected as a NextGen@ICANN member to attend and present her current research at ICANN61 held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from 10 to 15 March 2018.

Savannah’s previous work focused on gender-based violence prevention. She worked at Breakthrough, a human rights organization working to make gender-based violence culturally unacceptable through culture change. At Breakthrough, she managed the fellowship program, action incubator project, and digital organizing strategy.

While at UCLA, she was at the forefront of the campus sexual assault movement and created a national sexual violence prevention organization – 7000 in Solidarity. Her activism was featured on CNN, Aljazeera America, MSNBC, New York Times, Washington Post, and VICE. She previously consulted universities, legislators, activist groups, California State Legislature, and the Obama White House.She also hosts a an Internet-only radio show called The Gay Agenda.