Sara Wolforth

Sara Wraight Wolforth is a managing director in the Youth Family and Community Development program at AIR. Wolforth leads AIR’s Child and Youth Development Portfolio, which houses work related to the implementation and study of policies, programs, and initiatives that are designed to support whole child and youth development in and out of schools, including with families and in communities.

A seasoned technical assistance provider, project director, and policy expert Wolforth has led multiple large technical assistance centers focused on capacity building and systems change. Most recently, she served as deputy director of the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE), funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools. The Center offers information and technical assistance to states, districts, schools, institutions of higher learning, and communities focused on improving school climate and conditions for learning. In addition, Wolforth served as the co-director of the State Support Network and director of the Midwest Comprehensive Center. 

Wolforth contributed to several policy and practice-focused publications, including a book chapter on funding strategies for making schools more safe, equitable, and engaging and a policy brief series on how expanded learning can support the whole child. Wolforth’s extensive facilitation experience includes supporting state-level task forces on competency-based education, educator effectiveness, literacy, regional support systems, civic education, and accountability.

In her research, policy, and technical assistance work, Wolforth benefits from her experience as an educator, having taught in Chicago at the upper elementary and high school levels. Before entering the field of education, she was a practicing attorney.