Sara Suzuki

Sara Suzuki is a Senior Researcher and Research Assistant Professor at CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. She studies how young people develop as civic actors, and what conditions—in families, schools, organizations, movements, and broader social systems—propel that development. At CIRCLE, she leads national studies on voter registration, political homes, and capacity building within movement ecosystems. Her research also traces how political engagement shapes young people’s physical, socioemotional, and financial health, with sustained attention to youth who face structural barriers to participation. Her own background in community organizing shapes this work, as does her use of quantitative methods that can account for complexity rather than flatten it. She holds a PhD in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College.