Meet Sara
We would like to introduce you to our newest board member, Sara Rossi. Sara is the Managing Director of the Health Resiliency Fund at Direct Relief.
In her work, she oversees initiatives and grant-making programs that strengthen health facilities’ resilience and sustainability in the face of disasters and a changing climate, domestically and around the world. Prior to joining Direct Relief, Sara spent a decade supporting ministries of health, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Her work helped to strengthen the sustainability and resilience of their health systems and financing via programs funded by the Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Global Fund, Unitaid, and the U.S. Government. She began her career as a management consultant serving U.S. hospital clients. This work sparked her interest in healthcare and health systems. Sara has a Master of Public Health and Master of Public Administration from Columbia University in New York, NY and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Global Studies from UCLA. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA with her husband and two young children. We’re extremely grateful to have Sara on our team!
We’ve worked on many projects with Sara over nearly two years of collaboration through her role at Direct Relief. As she mentions below, her new role on our team will allow her to explore and support a broader range of our projects.
Below, Sara lists her reasons for joining our board:
I see healthcare access as one of the most fundamental applications of the resilient power technology that Footprint Project deploys post-disasters. After 15 years of working in the field of public health, I can help advise the organization on key considerations for energy systems that support healthcare facilities and healthcare service delivery.
I'm endlessly curious about the work that Footprint Project does beyond the Direct Relief-supported activities. Now, I get a window into the full breadth of their work, which covers the spectrum of portable/temporary to permanent solutions.
I admire the way Will and Jamie have created a healthy organizational culture with such intention. I have always been part of organizations with 20+ year track records. Now I can help shape the direction of an organization at a very exciting juncture: going from start-up mode to scale-up mode.
I’m excited to help Footprint Project think expansively about future growth and funding opportunities, especially in the international space.
My admiration for Footprint Project's other board members gives me the chance to both learn from and contribute to the collective wisdom of this group over a multi-year period.
P.S. Sara would like you to know that her 6-year-old son's favorite article of clothing in the world is his Footprint Project t-shirt, which he loves to wear as pajamas.
