Policy Associate
Sarah Pesi is a policy associate with a primary focus on initiatives related to behavioral health. Pesi is a lead coordinator in the work of the PA Youth Advocacy Network, which brings youth and youth-serving organizations together to advocate for mental health system change and centers youth voice. She also supports the Teen Mental Health Collaborative which seeks to extend the continuum of care and support out-of-school time organizations. Ms. Pesi is called to the mission of building up community and activism and enjoys leading the teen advocacy series and staffing other JHF fellowships, including the Salk Activist Fellowship and BH Fellows program. She also works with the JHF policy team to coordinate the Policy Advocacy Coalition for the National Patient Safety Board and serves on the PA Health Funder Collaborative workgroup on behavioral health. Prior to JHF, she worked at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh as the director of teen wellness and advocacy at the Second Floor, where she offered wellness programming in the after-school teen drop-in space. She has worked on numerous policy initiatives, including successfully passing PA legislation as a teen. Ms. Pesi has a Master of Science in Public Policy & Management with a concentration in public policy analysis from Carnegie Mellon University, and she earned a BA in public policy studies and a minor in social services administration from Chatham University.