Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Nathaniel Hendren have announced the appointment of Sarah Oppenheimer as the Executive Director of Opportunity Insights.

Sarah has served as the Director of Policy and Research at OI since 2019  during which time she helped to develop and implement the group’s strategy for translating research to policy applications. Sarah has a deep, lifelong commitment to increasing access to affordable housing and healthcare by developing and using research data to drive more equitable and effective policy. Before joining the OI team, Sarah served as the Director of Research and Evaluation for the King County Housing Authority (KCHA) where she led development and implementation of research projects and partnerships (including KCHA’s work in the Creating Moves to Opportunity pilot), oversaw program evaluation and learning strategies, and designed approaches for improved data capacity.

Before joining KCHA, Sarah managed research projects at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Division of Public Health Practice and at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Center for Community-Based Research to develop and implement research involving practitioners, policymakers, and academics to address health disparities.  She also worked on evaluations for Building Changes, an intermediary agency to address homelessness, focusing on race and health disparities in families’ experiences of the homeless service system.  Prior to her work in applied research, Sarah worked as a practitioner, first as a case manager for families in Seattle, WA and then directing HIV/AIDS housing programs in Cambridge, MA.

As Executive Director, Sarah will focus on ensuring that OI’s research and data continue to have impact in both academic and policy spaces, supporting OI’s staff, administration, and organizational structure, and guiding OI’s current and future initiatives to foster economic opportunity for all.

Sarah holds a BA in Sociology and Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont, a Master’s degree in Development of Society, Human Development and Health from Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health, and a Masters in Public Policy and Management from the University of Washington, where she is currently also completing her PhD in Public Policy and Management.