Raised in a Spanish-speaking household in Miami by Cuban-born parents, Sara has experienced, first-hand, the joys and challenges of getting ahead as an individual in a world that favors labels. A tenacious high school athlete, Sara won a volleyball scholarship that set her on a long cross-country path through higher education. In many ways, she embodies the American Dream. She earned her Ph.D. in psychology at Georgia State University in 1993 then completed her post-doctoral training at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, before accepting an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. 

Never one to sit on the sidelines and frustrated by her local political representation, Sara broke new ground in 2008 as a first-time candidate in a spirited race for the Massachusetts State Senate, winning 41% of the vote against incumbent Republican, Scott Brown. In 2010, she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and again in 2012, when her department was recognized for its extraordinary work on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

Sara is also a writer and storyteller who has published essays in The Delmarva Review, Oxford Magazine, and Bay Windows. She is a three-time Boston Moth StorySLAM winner. Sara is currently working on a memoir about her Cuban exile experience and the intergenerational toxicity of political obsession. 

A Miami transplant now living in New England, she lives with her wife, dog, and twin sons when they are home from college.