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Sarah Costa

Sarah Costa

On September 7, Sarah Costa will assume her position as executive director of the Women's Refugee Commission.

Sarah has more than 25 years’ experience in the fields of women's rights, reproductive health, gender and youth development, as well as global philanthropy.

Before coming to the Women's Refugee Commission, she was regional director of the Global Fund for Women. She established the organization’s New York office, and represented the organization in programmatic and fundraising activities on the East Coast. From 1994 to 2006, she worked as a program officer for the Ford Foundation in Brazil and New York, developing and managing international and national programs on gender, sexuality and reproductive health, women’s rights, HIV/AIDS and health policy. She was Professor of Women’s Health at the National School of Public Health, Brazil from 1980 to 1994, where she taught and conducted research on women's health policy and social development.

She was also a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Council on Women's Rights in Brazil, served on the boards of several women's NGOs and was a technical advisor to the state government of Rio de Janeiro.

Sarah was born and raised in England, where she earned a Master's Degree in Demography from London University and a Ph.D. in Social Medicine from Oxford University. She has published numerous papers and articles on women's health and reproductive rights in both English and Portuguese.