Sarah Carpenter

Sarah Carpenter, Ph.D., is Close the Gap’s Ohio Recruiter. A Cincinnati native with deep roots on the city’s Westside, she has spent her career helping people step into leadership. She spent more than a decade with Teach For America as a teacher, national recruiter, and statewide alumni leader in Ohio. Locally, Sarah is a Ward Chair with the Hamilton County Democratic Party and serves as Vice President of the Westside Democratic Club, organizing largely in historically conservative communities. She also coaches prospective candidates as they weigh a run for office and prepare to file. Sarah holds a Ph.D. in Media and Public Affairs and an MPA from LSU, where her research focused on the barriers that keep women out of elected office, and undergraduate degrees from the University of Cincinnati. She believes democracy works better when the people closest to a community’s challenges are the ones writing its laws.