Dr. Lisa Sable Brown Endowed Fund for Human Rights

The Dr. Lisa Sable Brown Endowed Fund for Human Rights provides financial resources to benefit graduate students involved in research about, and advocacy for, basic human rights, particularly around the issue of modern-day slavery and other grave forms of oppression.

The Dr. Lisa Sable Brown Endowed Fund for Human Rights provides financial resources to benefit graduate students involved in research about, and advocacy for, basic human rights, particularly around the issue of modern-day slavery and other grave forms of oppression.

Dr. Lisa Sable Brown is an alumna of the University of Washington, where she studied psychology before obtaining a Doctorate in Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1971. Dr. Brown spent her teaching career cultivating awareness and compassion in young people. During her career, she taught all age levels, but enjoyed teaching 2nd grade the most. She was particularly motivated by the urgency of stopping modern-day slavery and other grave forms of oppression in our world, especially those violations that forced people and young girls into slavery.

Fund Eligibility

The Dr. Lisa Sable Brown Fund provides financial resources to benefit graduate students to study and/or conduct research about human rights. In 2023, we anticipate having approximately $10,000 available to distribute; the entire amount may be issued in a single award or split between multiple awardees. The number of awards and amounts will vary depending on the number and quality of applications.

Priority will be given to graduate student research that identifies acts of oppression of an individual’s human rights and advocates abolishing such practices that may be viewed as a form of “slavery.” Such acts can be in the form of any practice that abuses individuals regardless of age or gender, including, but not limited to, child labor, starvation wages, sexual abuse, human trafficking, and child military services.

  • Any graduate student who is currently enrolled is eligible to apply.
  • This award is open to graduate students at all three branches of the University of Washington (Seattle, Bothell, or Tacoma).
  • The award could be used towards tuition, research, travel, books, materials, equipment.
  • US citizenship or permanent resident status is NOT REQUIRED.

Application Materials

Applications accepted from February 13 to March 18, 2023.

You will be asked to provide the following information:

  1. Biographic information, status as student, contact information, GPA, etc.
  2. CV/Resume with current contact information
  3. Proposal that answers the following questions (approx. 1000 words)
    • A description of the research/study and the goals of the travel, if any travel is included.
    • What experiences do you have (if any) in the field of human rights?
    • Outline the purpose of your research/study and its relevance to the study of (or practice of promoting) human rights.
  4. A detailed budget describing how the funds would be used and, if applicable, how this support would supplement other funds, fellowships, and grants.
  5. Unofficial transcripts.
  6. A letter of recommendation from the student’s primary advisor or committee member.
  7. The names and full contact information (campus address, phone, and email) of two University of Washington (or past non-UW) faculty members who are familiar with your work.

If you have any questions about the application process, please do not hesitate to contact us at uwchr@uw.edu.

Apply