Meet Sara

Sara serves as a Program Associate for the BEST Program at George Kaiser Family Foundation.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Sara moved permanently to Tulsa after spending time here on an internship, falling in love with the area, and seeing the difference she could make by living and working in our city.

How did you land in Tulsa?

I first visited Tulsa in 2019 for a church conference. Now, I grew up as a theater kid in New York, and the only thing I knew about Oklahoma was based off of Oklahoma, the musical. But when I got here, I explored and met so many amazing people. I liked Tulsa, so I returned to volunteer as part of a church internship program. I really got to know the community and saw I could make an impact here, so I decided to make my move here permanent. I returned to New York, and when I saved up enough money, I relocated back here. It's kind of a boomerang story because I never expected to come here, and I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

How did you find your way into your current role?

I was working at a fitness center, but that wasn't what I wanted to do long-term. So I made the decision to leave the job because I wanted to focus on my career and be in a workspace where I was doing more with my abilities. Someone said, “Hey, have you ever heard of the inTulsa network? You should check it out. It would be a good fit for you to start looking.” I signed up on inTulsa’s talent network website and browsed through the many jobs listed there. 

I was surprised and grateful that within less than a week of signing up with inTulsa, someone contacted me and we had our first conversation about my work history and what I was looking for. And within a few months, I was working in my new role with BEST.

What does the BEST program do?

BEST stands for Birth through Eight Strategy for Tulsa. We primarily partner with organizations that are focused on maternal care during pregnancy, prenatal and postnatal care, and education setting students up for success, pre-K through the third grade. All of our partner organizations are somewhere along that umbrella, providing basic needs like clothing and food for mothers or families with children within that age range, offering educational resources like books or reading services for students, or caring for mental health through counseling and therapy.

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