Executive Director

Saharra L. Dixon, MA, CHES®

 Saharra Dixon (she/her) is performance storyteller and health equity researcher from the greater Philadelphia area. She uses art and storytelling to identify and address fundamental causes of health inequity. She works with children & adults alike in using art as a tool for reflection, transformation, & radical healing. Her scholarship works to understand how systems and social environments (re)produce health inequities, particularly related to mental health issues and chronic disease.

Dixon uses arts-based and participatory methods to promote more caring, collaborative, and community-accountable approaches to health promotion and research. Dixon also has experience working in adolescent sexual/reproductive health, reproductive justice, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. Saharra received her BS in Health Behavior Science from the University of Delaware and her MA in Educational Theatre from New York University. She is a Public Health PhD Candidate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Dixon began her arts training as a young child at New Freedom Theater in Philadelphia, PA. She has connected her life to arts and culture ever since. Her  dissertation research topic is: ‘Some of Us Did Not Die’: Storytelling as Recovering Black Grief Embodied Narrative Traditions in Qualitative Mental Health Research and Intervention–a Case Study on the Impact of the Superwoman Role on Black Women and Femmes with Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs), inspired by poet and activist June Jordan and her own work as a grief doula and BFRB advocate. She co-directs the Worcester Youth Speaks Honestly (WYSH) devised theatre program at the Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. She has also worked in local government public health throughout Western Massachusetts. She has experience partnering with several organizations across the U.S. and abroad including the Collective for Radical Death Studies, Planned Parenthood of Delaware, United Way of Delaware, the TLC Foundation for Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors, the Lyder Foundation, Trinity College Dublin, BFRB UK & Ireland, Front Porch Arts Collective, and The Body: a Home for Love. 

Dixon is excited to continue Main IDEA’s legacy! To learn more about Saharra, you may visit her website at saharradixon.com.

Contact: saharra@mainidea.org