Sarah de Guia, JD
As chief executive officer of ChangeLab Solutions, Sarah de Guia oversees development and implementation of the organization’s goals, priorities, strategies, and budget. She is committed to applying her legal expertise and leadership experience to advancing equitable laws and policies that ensure healthy communities for all.
Under Sarah’s leadership, ChangeLab Solutions has established new partnerships and funding sources to uplift health-promoting policies in rural areas; assist community efforts to increase affordable housing; strengthen resilience and opportunities for children and families; support public health agencies and equitable enforcement; and expand innovations in equitable and sustainable food systems. ChangeLab Solutions also supported a successful lawsuit to strike down the penalty provision of California legislation that preempts sugary drink taxes until 2031.
Sarah co-edited the COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future — a nationwide collaboration involving more than 50 legal experts — and co-authored another collaborative report, How California’s Community-Based Organizations Filled the Gaps for Underserved Communities: Meeting the Needs of Racially & Ethnically Diverse Communities During the Pandemic.
Sarah regularly presents at meetings of national organizations such as the American Public Health Association; the National Association of County and City Health Officials; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the American Health Law Association.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Sarah was director of government affairs and then executive director at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN). Sarah’s accomplishments at CPEHN include passage of more than a dozen legislative bills to further health equity; critical administrative policy wins to incorporate health equity into land use and planning regulations; and improvements in the quality of health care for immigrants, patients with limited English proficiency, and communities of color. She has authored many publications on the health of communities of color in California; oral health disparities; mental health; and Latino health. Sarah’s previous positions also include health program director at the Latino Issues Forum and legislative analyst at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She earned her law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sarah sits on the advisory committee for the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health, the advisory council of the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge, the editorial committee of Public Health Watch, the principles alliance stewardship council of Raising the Bar: Health Care’s Transforming Role, and the board of directors of the CARESTAR Foundation and the Health Access Foundation.
To schedule a meeting with Sarah, invite her to speak, or request her speaker packet, please reach out to her executive assistant, Karina Bielecki, at kbielecki@changelabsolutions.org.
For media requests, please contact ChangeLab Solutions’ chief communications officer, Kim Arroyo Williamson.