Sara is a research scientist in NORC’s Health Care Programs department. Her research focuses on evaluating state Medicaid initiatives and other state health policies. With over 13 years of experience working in public health and health services research, Sara has expertise in policy analysis, mixed-methods research, and cultivating partnerships across multiple sectors. Sara has extensive experience fielding web-based surveys, conducting qualitative analyses, and synthesizing findings into accessible documents for various stakeholders and partners. Her main content areas of research include health promotion and prevention, behavioral health, and improving access to care and services.

As a task lead, Sara supports the CMS Office of Minority Health in conducting policy and stakeholder analysis related to improving health care quality and advancing health equity among populations facing health disparities. 

In addition, she serves as a lead researcher on the CMS Improving Care for Medicaid and CHIP Beneficiaries with Complex Needs project to develop actionable guidance and best practices on improving workforce capacity among behavioral health providers within Medicaid. 

She has previously served as an evaluation task lead for the Public Health Infrastructure Grant Evaluation and project lead on a strategic initiative to enhance the efforts of Community Health Workers in addressing diabetes care management and social needs in Baltimore City.

In collaboration with a team of multidisciplinary academic researchers, Sara’s work has included deliverables for the California State Legislature; California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Prevention Program (CDPH/CTPP); National Cancer Institute; Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program; UC San Diego Academic Senate; and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Prior to her career at NORC, Sara was a senior policy analyst and project manager at the UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science where her research focused on the evaluation of state health policy interventions aimed at improving patient-centered and population health outcomes within the public and private insurance markets. Prior to that, she was an Associate at AcademyHealth, where she managed the organization’s expert stakeholder councils as well as several professional development opportunities for junior health services researchers, including fellowships and collaborative grant-making programs.