Expert Bio

Sarah B. Barnes is the Director of the Maternal Health Initiative (MHI) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington, DC, where she leads the programs’ research and programming. Barnes works closely with practitioners, researchers, donors, international development agencies, and policy makers to connect issues of gender, maternal and global health, and women’s leadership to foreign policy. She is also the editor of the Dot-Mom column on New Security Beat and has authored several reports and articles, including Creating Hope; The Unseen Side of Pregnancy: Non-Communicable Diseases and Maternal Health; Healthy Women, Healthy Economies: A Look at Brazil; Six Steps Towards Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality; and The Juggling Act of Caregiving: Balancing Career, Health, and Gender Roles. Barnes is also the co-manager of the Women and Gender Employee Resource Group as part of the Wilson Center’s Diversity and Inclusion Council.

Prior to the Wilson Center, Barnes completed her MPH in Reproductive Health and Community Assessment from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, and her MA in Women’s Studies from The George Washington University. She has spent much of her career living and working abroad in China, Thailand, and Jordan.