Sara has more than a decade of experience in education policy and government affairs, starting as a K-12 public school teacher. She thrives on helping clients achieve complex and challenging goals and has become a respected and trusted voice for education policy issues in Tallahassee. Sara joined McGuireWoods Consulting in 2018 after six years of leading government affairs for nonprofits in Florida. Prior to MWC, Sara led external and legislative affairs for Step Up For Students, the largest K-12 scholarship funding organization in the nation. Before that, she was the Florida Legislative Affairs Director for the Foundation for Excellence in Education. In addition to education, Sara has experience in the areas of child welfare, criminal justice, healthcare, gaming, insurance, financial services, and more.

In 2011, while still in the classroom, Sara was nominated for Orange County Public Schools Teacher of the Year award. By 2014, Sara was named one of “30 Under 30 Rising Stars” by Florida Politics, the state’s predominant political media outlet. In 2022, McGuireWoods Consulting named Sara the Atkinson-Payne Pro Bono Award winner in recognition of her accomplishments on behalf of the Florida Foster and Adoptive Parent Association. In October 2023, Sara was appointed to the Charter School Review Commission by the Florida State Board of Education.

Sara received her bachelor’s degree in English Education from the University of North Florida in 2007 and her master’s degree in Education Policy and Evaluation from Florida State University in 2014.Sara is a member of Leadership Florida (Connect Class VI), the American Enterprise Institute’s State Leadership Network, and founder of Red Dog Blue Dog, an annual bartending benefit that provides an opportunity for Republican and Democrat lawmakers to compete for a cause (raising more than $190,000 since its inception). In her spare time, she volunteers as a guardian ad litem in Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit and fosters dogs through a local animal rescue organization. Sara lives in Tallahassee with her daughter.