Sara Amberg

Sara sees her career as a journey that could only lead to collaborative community work. After finishing graduate studies at the University of North Carolina, Sara taught writing and journalism with students at six diverse universities and colleges. This experience supported her Fulbright award in 2001 at the University of Tirana in Albania, leading the country’s student journalism efforts. While in the Balkans, Sara also contracted with UNESCO, monitoring elections in the rural areas of Albania and Kosovo. Her experience with student journalism led to a position at the Tulsa World in 2006 overseeing the Educational Services Department. Her experience with a wide service area and a diverse population came in handy when Sara joined the area food bank as the Manager of Agency Capacity Building. She assisted more than 350 anti-hunger agencies across 24 counties in their efforts to grow and collaborate to better serve those in need. Sara also engaged in state and federal advocacy and public policy initiatives, administered the national Hunger Study, and collaborated with the University of Oklahoma. Sara has worked as a grant writer and consultant for five years; her funding expertise is in the areas of immigration and refugee services, women’s empowerment programs, health and wellness, youth development, and food insecurity. For two-years, she served as Strategic Director of InteGreat! a collective impact initiative where she helped launch the Summer Lunch, Neighborhood Navigator, and InGear programs. In Fall 2017, she became Sustainability, Capacity, and Grants Director at YouthPower365 and Vail Valley Foundation. Sara and her husband, Doug, have two children, ages eleven and thirteen. Every day they are grateful for this mountain community.