Sarah partners with K12 education leaders to develop and implement academic and talent initiatives aimed at ensuring that all students have access to high-quality instruction and all educators have the resources, support and growth opportunities to thrive in their careers. She leads a portfolio of projects focused on areas including innovative educator preparation models that increase access to the teaching profession, strategic school staffing approaches that make the teaching role more sustainable, and high-quality instructional materials that ensure students consistent access to rigorous, relevant grade-level instruction. At Education First, Sarah facilitates the Gates Foundation’s Curriculum Literacy Community of Practice, which supports teacher educators in incorporating HQIM into teacher preparation coursework and clinical experiences to align with district instructional priorities. She also leads work building capacity among districts, county offices of education, and other stakeholders in California to develop registered teacher apprenticeships in PK12 teaching, and works with the CCSSO IMPD Network to support state agencies in building system-level coherence to promote effective use of HQIM in schools.
Previously, Sarah served as Senior Director of Professional Learning Design in the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Teacher Development, where she led the design of professional learning experiences to build educators’ pedagogical skills and school leaders’ capacity to engage in effective observation and feedback practices. She began her career as a middle school social studies in the Rio Grande Valley.
Sarah holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Virginia and an M.P.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys gardening,, singing in a choir, finding or cooking delicious vegan food, and hanging out with her spouse and many pets.
