SASWATHI NATTA
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
Social Scientist | Engineer
I am a researcher in demography and survey statistician. I hold a PhD in Sociology and a bachelors in Electrical Engineering. I have worked as a public health analyst doing cognitive interviewing for the NCHS-CDC, embarked on a Fulbright grant interviewing 100+ women in Rural India and taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Maryland in statistical methods and introductory sociology. I am also a lifelong scholar, a mother, a wife, a civil servant and community organizer.
WORK EXPERIENCE & RESEARCH
Snapshot of My Career
FEDERAL WORK
2022 Onward
Full Time Survey Statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau, analyzing data, researching demographic trends like fertility, aging and population momentum. Providing capacity building using demographic methods and social characteristics to make populations more resilient and governments more prepared for any disaster, natural or man-made.
PhD THESIS: EXPERIENCING CASTE: SOCIAL DISTANCE IS DISTINCT FROM ECONOMIC DISTANCE
2020-2024
To study the impact of societal change on different caste groups, I put forward a theory, that social inequalities should be observed and operationalized in social terms ( behaviors, experiences) separately from economic terms (income, assets), when assessing their impact on outcomes. Moreover, these two axes of stratification should be localized to communities, not charted at state or national levels to make sense of them for individual outcomes.
FULBRIGHT FIELDWORK
Jan - July 2019
My Dissertation fieldwork was funded by a Fulbright Grant. I conducted Women's focus groups to generate relevant questions. Topic included education, family formation, caste, work, gender roles, challenges, empowerment. I then conducted 100+ Individual Interviews with rural women. Half the sample was dominant caste, and half the sample was Dalit.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Community Organizing & Discussion Facilitation
PANEL ON THE UNDERLAYING ISSUES OF NETFLIX SHOW "INDIAN MATCHMAKING"
Aug 29th, 2020
Critical discussion with scholars studying caste and who identify as Dalit about the caste and gender issues normalized in the Netflix show "Indian Matchmaking"
TEACHER TRAINING: CENTERING STUDENTS' NEEDS
June 2019 & Jan 2020
In an effort to better serve orphaned children in southern India, I conducted a teacher training workshops to launch student led activities and build a mental health support network students can rely on for the NGO Friends of Children Village and affiliated school.
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
2024 Onward
Responding to Crime in my local community, I organized community meetings and formalized a neighborhood watch team, to regularly coordinate with local police. It has been a wonderful community building experience in addition to making our neighborhood safer.
