Sarah Sladen is the Agency Youth Coordinator overseeing the advancement of USAID’s Policy for Youth in Development and its goals to increase young people’s access to and participation in the services, practices, and policies that impact their lives. 

Ms. Sladen brings more than 15 years of technical experience in international youth development, including promoting youth economic opportunities; coalition building and advocacy; and peacebuilding and conflict resolution. She joins USAID after serving as a Technical Advisor for Youth Engagement and, before that, as Director of the Youth Economic Opportunities Network at Making Cents International. Ms. Sladen previously led the growth and management of the Alliance for International Youth Development at InterAction, where she coordinated community advocacy for the inclusion and prioritization of youth issues in U.S. foreign assistance. Her past roles have also included program support with the Educational Quality Improvement Program at the Education Development Center Inc., and, at Seeds of Peace, youth leadership and peacebuilding programming with youth from the Middle East, South Asia, the Balkans, and the United States.

Ms. Sladen holds a master’s degree in international development with a concentration in children and youth from the School of International Service at American University, and a bachelor’s degree in politics from Mount Holyoke College.