Sara Wilensky, Ph.D., J.D.
Sara Wilensky is the Special Services Faculty for Undergraduate Education in the Department of Health Policy.
- Phone: 202-994-4126
- Fax: 202-994-4040
- Email: wilensky@gwu.edu
As both a teacher and a researcher, Dr. Wilensky concentrates on the financing, access and health care needs of the medically underserved, including low-income and uninsured individuals, farmworkers and patients with HIV and AIDS. After completing her undergraduate work, Professor Wilensky served as a fellow at Plan de Salud del Valle Community Health Center, located in rural Colorado, gaining first-hand insights into the needs of these populations. Subsequently, she pursued a law degree, clerked for a federal judge and worked briefly at a law firm, before becoming a member of the GW health policy faculty in 2002. In addition to her responsibilities as a teacher, advisor, and mentor, Dr. Wilensky serves on two Department committees - for student and alumni affairs, and for recruitment and admissions -- and on the School's undergraduate curriculum sub-committee. Committed to improving the writing skills of both graduates and undergraduates, she is also actively involved in the Writing in the Disciplines program. As the Director of the Undergraduate Program in Public Health, Professor Wilensky oversees three undergraduate programs, a Public Health major, minor, and five year BS/MPH dual-degree program. GW is one of only a handful of schools that offers a full array of public health opportunities to our undergraduate students.
Education
Bachelor of Arts (Women and Gender Studies; Political Science), Amherst College, 1993 Juris Doctor, University of Pennsylvania, 1997 Master of Public Policy (Health Policy), George Washington University, 2004 Doctor of Philosophy (Health Policy), George Washington University, 2010
Teaching
PubH 191 - Introduction to Health Policy, Department of Health Policy PubH 281 - Introduction to Health Policy Analysis, Department of Health Policy PubH 303 - Fundamentals for Policy: Public Health and Health Care PubH 193 - Service Learning in Public Health
Research
Dr. Wilensky leads projects on safety net issues, focusing on the financing and access-to-care barriers faced by vulnerable and underserved populations. Topics of her recent research relate to various aspects of the Medicaid program, policy issues and research affecting community health centers, financing HIV primary care services and preventing and treating childhood obesity.
Expertise
- Community Health Centers
- Health Care Safety Net
- Medicaid and SCHIP
- Public Financing