Sarah Esmond

Sarah Esmond, MS, lends project management to Center offerings, to ensure alignment of health equity-related programming with CCHE mission and research and others programs occurring in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and through other UW Health Sciences schools and campus entities including the UW Office of Community Relations, Morgridge Center for Public Service, the Waisman Center, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, Area Health Education Centers and the UW Native Nations Initiative. She serves on the South Madison Partnership Advisory Board and contributes to multiple national workgroups and networks. 

In Dane County, Sarah works collaboratively with leadership of Urban Triage Inc, Allied Wellness Center, and Kujichagulia Center for Self Determination as part of community-campus partnerships to eradicate disparities in health and wellness. Sarah is also part of an Advancing Healthier Wisconsin award with the Milwaukee AHEC to support Community Health Workers (CHWs) contributing to research in academic health centers. . 

Sarah co-founded the Health Equity Leadership Institute and the Advancing Health Equity and Diversity programs at UW, as well as the UW Native American Center for Health Professions. She established CCHE’s Research Ambassadors serving in Milwaukee (with long-time partners at the United Community Center and Center for Urban Population Health) and Madison. 

Between 2002 and 2014, Sarah served as the Administrative Director for two NIH/NIMHD Center of Excellence awards to UW. She facilitates research partnerships, community-academic engagement and career development programming – and the administrative infrastructure necessary to support these — in support of health equity scholars addressing disparities in health and health outcomes across diverse communities. From 2015 to 2020, she served as the second Administrative Director for the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.