Sarah Despres worked for 15 years on Capitol Hill. She served as a counsel on the Senate Government Affairs Committee, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the Energy and Commerce Committee. During her tenure in Congress, she focused primarily on public health issues, including infectious disease policy and immunizations, bioterrorism and pandemic preparedness, and food and medical product regulation.

After leaving Congress in 2011, Sarah joined the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she led the government relations team for the health portfolio. At Pew, she led outreach to Congress and the Administration on a number of public health issues, including oversight of medical product safety, drug pricing, antibiotic resistance, and substance use disorders. During this time, Sarah also served on the HHS National Vaccine Advisory Committee, which provides vaccine policy recommendations to the Assistant Secretary of Health.

In 2021, Sarah joined the US Department of Health and Human Services, serving as a counselor to the Secretary for Public Health and Science, focusing on public health preparedness and response and regulation of food and medical products.  

Sarah holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

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