Chapin Hall

Sara Patterson serves as the Chief of Staff at Chapin Hall. In this role, Patterson works to strengthen organizational alignment, coordination, and communication between and across teams. She supports and advances the impact areas of Chapin Hall through promoting operational excellence, carefully stewarding resources, and structuring priorities in service of the organization’s mission.

Patterson collaborates closely with leaders and staff across Chapin Hall, as well as with the Board of Directors, research partners, funders, and leaders from public and private agencies. She is a key adviser to Executive Director Bryan Samuels. Her position is vital to aligning internal efforts and external engagement and advancing strategic priorities that are critical to Chapin Hall’s influence and impact in the child welfare field and beyond.

Patterson joined Chapin Hall after 23 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she led large, complex organizations and oversaw multibillion-dollar budgets, national initiatives, and cross-sector partnerships in areas that include injury and violence prevention and workforce and public health systems development. Most recently, she served as Acting Director of CDC’s Public Health Infrastructure Center, overseeing a budget of more than $6 billion and a workforce of over 670 staff. Throughout her career, Patterson has been recognized for her ability to navigate complexity, strengthen organizational operations, and support leaders and teams through change.