Sara Abelson has worked at the intersection of research and practice in higher education for more than 15 years to improve mental health and health equity at colleges and universities across the US. She is a recipient of the American Association of Colleges and Universities K. Patricia Cross Award and the American College Health Association Lewis Barbato Award. Her research and programmatic contributions have been featured in The New York Times, NBC Nightly News, NPR, The Chronicle of Higher Education, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, among others.

Prior to joining the Hope Center, Sara served as Co-Investigator and Lead for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Projects with the Healthy Minds Network and Vice President of Student Health and Wellness at the national nonprofit, Active Minds. While completing her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, Sara served as a Rackham Merit Fellow and Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Scholar and received funding from the Institute for Social Research, Center for the Education of Women+, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Depression Center, Rackham Graduate School, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan. Sara received her MPH from University of Michigan and her BA from Cornell University.