Dr. Sara O'Connor is the Associate Director of the Geo-SpACE Lab and Lecturer in the Geography Department at California State University, Long Beach. She received her PhD in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of California, Irvine, a Master's of Urban Planning from New York University, and a BA in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College. She has both worked and researched in Kazakhstan, with her dissertation work comprising qualitative comparative case studies in Kazakhstan (hint: be on the lookout for her book on this topic coming out soon, with Routledge!). Join me in a chat with Sara about exploring career opportunities, working whilst studying, and how to make your skills translational within and outside of academia.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-o-connor-55761422/

Sara's book: "Civic Activism in Authoritarian Space: Urban Development Interventions in Kazakhstan" and it's coming out in April 2025 in Routledge's Post-Soviet Politics series