Sara Soka
About Sara Soka
Sara Soka is a Senior Program Manager at Code for America, where she focuses on improving government policy and service delivery. She has extensive experience in health policy, program management, and social impact, having worked with various organizations including the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation and Healthy Food America.
Work at Code for America
Sara Soka currently serves as a Senior Program Manager at Code for America, a position she has held since 2022. In this role, she focuses on improving government policy and service delivery through equitable and participatory approaches. Previously, she worked as a Policy Design Consultant at Code for America for two months in 2019. Her work emphasizes sharing best practices among state government agencies to enhance the social safety net.
Previous Experience in Health Policy
Sara Soka has a background in health policy, having worked as the Health Policy Outreach Manager at the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California for five months in 2015. In this role, she contributed to initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes within the community. Additionally, she served as the Vice President of Policy at Healthy Food America for ten months in 2017-2018, where she focused on policy development related to healthy food access.
Fellowship at Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
Sara Soka was a fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation from 2020 to 2022. During her fellowship, she documented advances in benefit delivery that leverage human-centered design, data, and technology. She also held the position of Research Faculty focused on Social Safety Net Benefits, contributing to research and policy initiatives aimed at enhancing social safety nets.
Educational Background
Sara Soka holds a Bachelor's Degree in International Studies and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She furthered her education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a Master's Degree in Population Health Sciences. Her academic background supports her expertise in policy and program management.
Diverse Professional Roles
Throughout her career, Sara Soka has held various roles that demonstrate her versatility and expertise. She worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Trainer, Producer, Project Manager, and Grantwriter at the WI Clearinghouse for Prevention Resources from 2009 to 2013. Additionally, she was part of the U.S. Digital Response team from 2020 to 2021, focusing on government intake processes, and worked in UX Research Operations at Asana for five months in 2018-2019.