Volunteer Profile: Sara Kane

Currently pursuing a MA in Criminal Justice at John Jay College

Project at the Alliance: Sara has been a research volunteer at the Alliance since last March. She has been conducting interviews with hospital administrators and doctors for the Alliance’s citywide hospital survey. Sara was also instrumental in developing the conceptualization for the hospital survey design.

What did you want to volunteer at the Alliance? “I am very interested in violent crime victims and the outreach and policies around helping these victims. The Alliance is instrumental in educating, helping, and advocating for sexual assault victims. They are a very important organization.”

What did you gain from your experience interning at the Alliance? “I am gathering data from the field regarding how certain professions treat sexual assault victims and how forensic data is collected. The data will be used to help make changes to benefit victims, which is important work. I enjoy working with the Alliance. I value the opportunities given to me to help broaden my knowledge of this field. They are a great group of people.”

What do you hope to pursue in the future? “Academically, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in a program that focuses on research, law, and policy making for crime victim services. Professionally, I hope to work for an organization that will conduct research, and the results will be used to educate and change policy where necessary, to help better crime victim laws and services.”