Category: Oral Histories

Title: Sarah Margon (MSFS’05)

Sarah Margon (MSFS'05)

Sarah Margon (MSFS’05): From Georgetown to Human Rights Watch

Sarah Margon (MSFS’05) is the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, where she serves as the organization’s main point of contact with the U.S. government and provides legislative and policy guidance.

When deciding where to go for her graduate degree, Margon chose Georgetown for a number of reasons, but most importantly because “it was right in the middle of everything.” During the program, she recalls “fully enjoying being immersed in the work,” knowing that what she was learning at MSFS would provide the foundation for the rest of her career.

Years later, she values the network that Georgetown provides and still reaches out to former classmates. She also recognizes how highly regarded her SFS education is in the professional world.

Sarah Margon is the Washington director at Human Rights Watch. In this role, she serves as the organization’s main point of contact with the US government and provides strategic and advocacy guidance, including legislative and policy development. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Margon was associate director of sustainable security and peacebuilding at the Center for American Progress. Margon also served as senior foreign policy advisor to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and as staff director to the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs. She has been a guest on various national and international media programs and has published in a wide range of outlets from the Washington Post to USA Today to Foreign Affairs. Margon holds a graduate degree from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University (Connecticut).