Bio

Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, Sarah Emmert has been dedicated to advancing social justice and community wellbeing since 2007. Her work spans educational and health equity, racial justice, youth leadership, and community safety. With a strong belief in collaboration across sectors, she partners with public agencies, philanthropic organizations, and community collaboratives to design equitable strategies, strengthen partnerships, and build leadership capacity.

As a consultant, Sarah leads and supports initiatives that center those most impacted by social issues to drive meaningful, sustainable change. Her recent work includes facilitating countywide strategic planning efforts, conducting organizational assessments, and guiding inclusive community engagement processes that advance equity and measurable results. Over the past two decades, she has contributed to multiple local initiatives addressing the Social Determinants of Health, from youth-led mental health efforts to system-level collaborations in violence prevention and survivor support.

Previously, Sarah served as Director of Community Impact at United Way of Santa Cruz County, where she oversaw several collective impact initiatives focused on health equity, juvenile justice reform, and culturally responsive community engagement. She also held roles as Public Policy Manager at the Homeless Services Center and Prison Project Coordinator at Barrios Unidos, and served on the Santa Cruz County Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission.

Sarah holds a B.A. in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and an M.A. in Criminology, Law, and Society from UC Irvine.