Basima Sisemore

Basima Sisemore is a senior researcher for the Othering & Belonging Institute. Her research is global in scope, and she contributes to solutions-based research to address structural marginality with a focus on Islamophobia, civil liberties and human rights, and forced migration. She also works closely with the Global Justice Program Director to provide support in the planning, coordination, and implementation of research projects and program related activities.

As part of the Global Justice program, she has co-authored reports on the impact of Islamophobia on US Muslims, the legalized othering of US Muslim communities, stakeholder reports to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Council, and co-developed a database documenting US anti-Muslim legislation.

Prior to joining the Institute, Basima worked for the Mendocino County Public Health Department as a Senior Program Specialist, and had previously worked with community-based organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area developing educational programming for Arab immigrant women and youth. 

Basima holds a Master’s degree in Research Architecture from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a Bachelor's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies and Middle Eastern Studies from UC Berkeley. She was also a Fulbright Research Fellow to Amman, Jordan. Her broader research interests include Israel/Palestine, Black, indigenous, and Third World feminism, colonialism, and advancing social and emotional well-being.