Sarah Abernathy

Sarah Abernathy is the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a nonprofit and nonpartisan coalition of more than 110 education associations and institutions—including AASCU—where she has worked since 2016. She has nearly 30 years’ experience staffing Congress and the executive branch on education and budget issues. Abernathy worked for 18 years on the House Budget Committee Democratic staff focusing on education, social services, and job training, and earlier worked for several House members. From 1994 to 1998, Abernathy worked at the U.S. Department of Education on rehabilitation services and adult and vocational education issues. She was detailed to the Office of Management and Budget’s education branch to handle special education and vocational rehabilitation, and to a regional Department of Health and Human Services office to work on child care and Head Start programs.

Abernathy graduated from Williams College (MA) and earned a master’s in public affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (NJ).