Academic + Applied Scholarship
Participatory research, education, college access, human development, program evaluation, and community-centered inquiry.
DR. SARAI KOO · RESEARCH + PUBLICATIONS
Ideas Worth Examining. Ideas Worth Sharing.
Explore Dr. Sarai Koo's multidisciplinary body of writing across leadership, organizational culture, education, human development, participatory research, Project SPICES™, Korean American identity, and practical transformation.
Leadership
Human Systems
Education
Culture
Research
Identity
Books · Research · Organizational Writing
Selected works from Dr. Sarai Koo's multidisciplinary publication portfolio
EXPLORE THE BODY OF WORK
Research Meets Real-World Application.
Dr. Koo's publication history crosses academic, professional, educational, cultural, and creative contexts. These are different forms of writing united by an interest in how people develop, lead, belong, change, and build systems.
Organizations + Culture
Organizational effectiveness, leadership, belonging, workplace culture, human systems, and institutional transformation.
Long-Form Ideas + Stories
Creative nonfiction, identity, culture, leadership resources, frameworks, and practical books for real-world use.
Ideas for Wider Audiences
Articles, essays, educational resources, thought leadership, cultural commentary, and accessible explanations of complex ideas.
FEATURED BOOK · CREATIVE NONFICTION
Seoul Food
Stories of Korean American life, family,
culture, identity and growing up in Los Angeles.
In Seoul Food, Sarai Koo explores the complexities of Korean American experience through snapshots of family, culture, food, expectations, belonging, and coming of age. Personal narrative becomes a way of examining the larger forces that shape identity.
FEATURED INTERVIEW · PUBLIC THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Ideas in the Public Conversation.
Dr. Koo's work extends beyond academic publication into long-form interviews and public thought leadership on purpose, leadership, culture, human capital, organizational alignment, and meaningful change.
Authority Magazine
September 28, 2024 · Interview with Russ McLeod
Innovation with Purpose: Dr. Sarai Koo on Purpose-Driven Business Models
In this long-form Authority Magazine interview, Dr. Koo discusses purpose-driven leadership, organizational culture, employee engagement, human capital, values, alignment, Project SPICES™, Winning Pathway®, and why meaningful organizational change requires going deeper than surface-level solutions.
Purpose
Leadership
Culture
Human Capital
Alignment
Project SPICES™
Read the Authority Magazine Interview →
PEER-REVIEWED · APPLIED · PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP
Research Grounded in Real People and Real Communities.
Dr. Koo's scholarship spans participatory research, educational access, human development, student success, culture, identity, community, and applied program evaluation.
2022 · FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT SUCCESS
The Effects of a Holistic College Access Camp on First-Gen Students
Research evaluating a holistic college-readiness intervention serving predominantly first-generation and low-income students, including outcomes related to competence, connectedness, and college access.
View Journal Publication →
EDUCATION · VOICE · HUMAN EXPERIENCE
Voices From the Work
Selected scholarship and public-facing educational work centered on student experience, human development, community, identity, and the lived realities behind educational outcomes.
Explore Dr. Koo's Research →
2013 · STUDENT SUCCESS
MAPS: Perceptions of a Successful Student
A public scholarship piece examining what student success can mean beyond grades, including confidence, resourcefulness, leadership, human development, college preparation, and quality of life.
Read MAPS: Perceptions of a Successful Student →
2014 · THE QUALITATIVE REPORT
Naming and Un-Naming a Research Study “Participatory”
A methodological examination of what it means to call research participatory, including the relational, ethical, interpretive, and methodological questions behind participatory inquiry.
Read the Journal Article →
2023 · AFTERSCHOOL MATTERS
College Access Through Youth-Led Afterschool Programming
Research examining a youth-led community-based college-access model and the role afterschool programming can play in expanding preparation and opportunity.
Read the Published Article →
2013 · MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION
Minority Within a Minority Paradox
Research examining Asian experiences within predominantly Latino schools and communities, including identity, stereotypes, race, friendship, and educational context.
Read the Full Article →
LEADERSHIP + ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Writing About the Systems People Work Inside.
Dr. Koo's professional writing examines leadership, workplace dynamics, organizational culture, belonging, institutional behavior, and the human patterns that can strengthen—or quietly undermine—organizations.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE SERIES
Modern Day Game of Thrones: Creating Ineffective Agencies
A multi-part organizational commentary exploring leadership dysfunction, workplace behavior, culture, power, accountability, and patterns that can make institutions less effective.
BOOKS · WORKBOOKS · FRAMEWORKS
Ideas Designed to Be Used.
PROJECT SPICES™
A Paradigm to Live a Quality Life
Early long-form work presenting Project SPICES as a framework for examining human development and quality of life.
PRACTICAL WORKBOOK
Marketing Without Money
A practical workbook developed to help readers think more strategically about marketing, visibility, resources, and execution.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Organizational Misalignment
Work examining toxic supervision, organizational dysfunction, workplace culture, inclusion, belonging, and leadership failure.
REVIEWS · FEATURES · PUBLIC RECEPTION
When the Work Enters the Public Conversation.
THE KOREA TIMES
Sarai Koo's “Seoul Food”: A Korean American Story
Coverage of the book and its exploration of Korean American life, family, cultural expectations, identity, and Los Angeles.
PACIFIC OAKS COLLEGE
Human Development Speaker Series
An alumni feature connecting Dr. Koo's human-development background with her public educational and professional work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR + RESEARCHER
Dr. Sarai Koo
Dr. Sarai Koo's writing sits at the intersection of scholarship and lived application. Her body of work spans education, human development, organizational culture, leadership, participatory inquiry, Korean American identity, and Project SPICES™.
That range matters because the questions underneath the work are connected: How do people develop? How do systems influence behavior? What creates belonging? Why do organizations become ineffective? And what helps individuals and institutions change?
AUTHOR + CREATIVE NONFICTION
PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH
LEADERSHIP + ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
EDUCATION + HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
EXPLORE BY SUBJECT
Follow the Questions That Matter to You.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Insider Threat Task Force
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence Insider Threat Task Force chose Dr. Sarai Koo as an organizational culture expert to provide organizational transformation strategies, both vertically and horizontally, to over 40 Federal Executive Agencies encompassing more than 200 Senior Executives.
Agencies present included Homeland Security, FBI, State Department, CIA, military intelligence agencies and more.
RESEARCH · WRITING · SPEAKING · APPLICATION
Ideas Become More Valuable When They Change What We See.
Explore Dr. Koo's larger body of work across research, Human Systems, Project SPICES™, leadership, organizational transformation, public education, speaking, and media.
Integration Under Pressure
Because integration is more than insight
The Human Operating System™—a proprietary multidimensional framework developed by Dr. Sarai Koo for understanding alignment across people, relationships, leadership, and organizations.
FRAMEWORK
FOUNDER & THINKING
CONTACT
© 2026 Project SPICES™. Project SPICES™, The Human Operating System™, and Re+Calibration™ are proprietary intellectual property developed by Dr. Sarai Koo. All rights reserved.