ABOUT US

A Better Force was created with the vision of making the world a more equitable place by giving people, organizations, and communities the tools to transform and empower themselves. Early in their careers, our co-founders, Saamiya and Sarah, realized that many leadership trainings focus on short term feel-good messages instead of effective long-term change. The trainings also did not take issues of equity into account, which made the solutions impractical for BIPOC and other historically marginalized groups, who often have to overcome significant structural barriers in life. As immigrants in the US who were also women of color, Saamiya and Sarah started ABF to bring their unique voices and an equity focus into the leadership and professional training world with data-backed, practical solutions.

Our Company and Team

Saamiya Seraj, PhD

Saamiya Seraj is the co-founder and CEO of A Better Force. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a PhD in Civil Engineering in 2014. After her PhD, she worked for five years in the construction industry, improving safety and quality standards on construction sites, and advocating for building designs that took occupants’ well-being and mental health into account. While working in industry, Saamiya realized that there was a lack of effective leadership training, which took systematic inequities into account. She started hosting workshops and conversations around this topic, which eventually led to the creation of A Better Force. She’s passionate about empowering individuals, especially BIPOC professionals, and helping companies create a thriving and equitable work culture. She currently lives in Austin, TX and is a recent cancer survivor of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

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CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Sarah Seraj, PhD

Sarah Seraj is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at A Better Force. Sarah started her career in environmental engineering but transitioned to the field of psychology when she realized engineering problems had social and psychological aspects that were often ignored in traditional solutions. This led to her doctoral degree in Social Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on social upheavals, cultural changes and racial issues. Her current work at A Better Force focuses on leading training sessions, consulting with businesses on workplace culture, and incorporating the latest research in organizational psychology, especially language-based data analysis, into suggested solutions for companies. She is currently based in Austin, Texas and loves reading and writing fiction in her leisure time.

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CO-FOUNDER, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The idea behind A Better Force is to create a better, more equitable world by giving people and organizations and communities the tools to transform and empower themselves. We have a special focus on the BIPOC and immigrant community, and other historically marginalized groups, whose unique challenges are often left out in traditional leadership spaces.
That’s simple – because we believe you can’t have one without the other. Being a true leader means ensuring that everyone has the opportunity and resources to thrive. In our present world rife with injustice, people can’t thrive without an increased focus on equity.
For companies and organizations, we have 90-minute customized group workshops, covering leadership training, professional development, personal growth and anti-racism topics. We also offer data and management consulting at an hourly rate to help companies with proposal writing, DEI reviews, workflow analysis, and other consulting. For individuals, we have one-on-one coaching sessions to empower individuals through their personal and professional life challenges. Topics include building confidence, overcoming fears, finding your authentic voice, managing time effectively and other tools for crafting a better life.
You can email us at contact@abetterforce.com or use our website’s Contact Us page to send us your information. If you prefer social media, you can send us a DM on Instagram or Facebook or LinkedIn. You can find all our socials at linktr.ee/abetterforce.
When clients reach out, we do a free 30-minute consultation where we talk about their developmental objectives and assess their individual or organizational needs. For larger companies, there may be follow-up interviews and discussions to better understand the company’s specific work culture and organization. After our initial assessment, we create a customized training (either one-to-one sessions or group workshops) and/or a consultancy plan to navigate through and overcome their unique challenges.
Research in this field shows that the most meaningful results occur when the training is customized to the clients’ particular needs and objectives. Not only that implementing effective change is hard, whether in someone’s personal life or in their organization, and requires a steadfast commitment. We insist on an initial assessment to understand these various aspects of a client before developing a training program or consultancy plan.
We believe the skills one can learn from our developmental and leadership training is essential to creating a good life. So, whether you are a student, a young professional or startup, or a veteran of your industry, we encourage anyone looking for growth to sign up for our services. If you are feeling unsure, book a 30-minute free consultation to discuss more and see if you would benefit from our services.
Please see our Shop page to see the prices for our various services and packages. If you’re a non-profit organization, contact us for our non-profit pricing options.
We have a lot of free resources on our blog and social media channels – please follow us to take advantage of this. We also have a free monthly book club, where we read books by women of color and discuss issues of personal development and empowerment. Finally, we partner with libraries and other equity focused organizations to do community workshops that are available to you for free or at a low cost. Please sign up to our newsletter to be in the loop for these events!
In many industries there is still a sense that leadership training should be reserved for higher management positions. However, this is a myth. Actual workplace data suggests that mentoring young professionals from the start of their career yields much higher long-term benefits for both the individual and the company. At A Better Force, our workshops actively work to dispel such linear career trajectory myths, as we believe leadership training is invaluable for individuals at all stages of their careers for continued growth and success.
A 2017 research study by Gallup shows that only 30% of US employees are engaged with their work. Lower engagement is correlated with lower sales, reduced productivity and decreased customer satisfaction. Our workshops, which prioritize equity and a person’s overall well-being, will help to create more thoughtful and empathetic leaders, as well as an engaged and motivated workforce. Overall, when employees are feeling well taken care of and confident to bring their ideas to the table, and leaders are effective at managing that diverse talent, companies will become innovative with their business solutions and more adaptable to the challenges of the post-pandemic world. This innovation and adaptability are key to winning over customers consistently and thriving in any industry.