Sara Zimmerman is a lawyer and public policy expert who specializes in bridging the gap between vision and implementation through policy that advances climate goals, health equity, and equitable, thriving communities. As director of the Climate Equity Policy Center, Sara works with community groups, national nonprofits, and local government to analyze barriers, develop strategies, and identify innovative policy approaches that simultaneously address equity and climate change. 

In addition to directing the Climate Equity Policy Center, Sara is also a senior advisor with Just Strategies, a mission-driven consulting firm that works with nonprofits, philanthropy, and academic partners to increase equity and racial justice in internal environment and external work. Sara also serves on the boards of the California Bicycle Coalition, as well as Oakland’s Original Scraper Bike Team, and is on the leadership team for Solidarity Sundays National Network.

Sara’s experience includes two decades of work with nonprofits in management, legal, and community organizing capacities. Previously, Sara was National Program and Policy Director of the Safe Routes Partnership (formerly the Safe Routes to School National Partnership). Serving for six years, Sara directed a diverse and skilled team of program and policy experts who developed innovative strategies to advance mobility justice and supported hundreds of communities across the United States through high quality technical assistance.

Prior to her time at Safe Routes Partnership, Sara worked for five years as a Senior Staff Attorney and Program Director at ChangeLab Solutions, a national nonprofit that assists governments and communities in developing and implementing legal frameworks that promote public health. At ChangeLab Solutions, Sara developed a new active community program area, advanced health equity, drafted model policies, engaged in legal analysis, provided technical assistance, and worked with community groups and public officials. 

Over the course of her career, Sara has worked for labor unions, community organizing groups, disability rights initiatives, employment rights organizations, and nonprofits providing access to legal services, and has provided criminal defense and nonprofit support services. She is the author of many publications and written tools, including model policies, policy scans, reports, state report cards on physical activity, journal articles, factsheets, toolkits, blogs, and more.

Sara graduated Order of the Coif from Berkeley School of Law. She clerked for Judge Richard Paez of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her undergraduate degree was from Swarthmore College, where she majored in biology with a concentration in environmental studies and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.