Meet Sarah Rascón

Sarah Rascón is a native Angeleno from El Sereno raised by her immigrant grandmother and proudly shaped by the public school and social services system. A first-generation college graduate from UC Merced, Sarah’s dedication to serving her community began early while interning for the Hispanic College Fund and working on voter education with the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project where she worked to increase Latino voter participation.

After finishing college, Sarah became a Community Development Organizer and developed STEM programming and careers curriculum for Northeast LA youth alongside the late Antonio Gonzalez. She went on to serve as field representative in the California State Assembly for then Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez focusing on issues concerning the Latino and LGBTQIA+ communities as well as environmental policy—particularly those affecting neighborhoods like Lincoln Heights, El Sereno, Highland Park, Silverlake and East LA.

 Sarah’s dedication to sustainability and environmental justice led her to serve as the inaugural Urban River Program Officer before becoming the Deputy Executive Officer of Environmental Equity for the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority (MRCA). She spearheaded the Upper LA River and Tributaries Revitalization Plan helping establish new natural parks and recreational opportunities with a prioritization for marginalized communities.  She developed an LA River workforce program and secured federal funding for an environmental protection ranger program at Elephant Hill in El Sereno. Rascón also launched environmental and tribal equity initiatives that increased representation for historically underrepresented groups.  

Rascón recently completed her role as Director of County and Regional Affairs for Mayor Karen Bass. She brought together elected leaders from throughout the county, including the Board of Supervisors and 87 neighboring cities, strengthening relationships across the region. Her efforts included collaborating with the Los Angeles Community College District, and the LA Unified School District and City of Los Angeles to establish shared priorities, including student safety and addressing homelessness. Her achievements as Director include strengthening relationships between the City and the County on areas of homelessness, wildfire recovery coordination, mental health efforts including expanding infrastructure for new facilities, housing veterans, expediting 100% affordable housing and shelter projects, while also improving traffic safety around schools like deploying crossing guards across the city, and expanding community school parks. She also led the first Los Angeles Foster Youth Shadow Day at City Hall in the Mayor's office, where foster youth delegates successfully advocated for policy changes and explored career pathway opportunities.  

Sarah’s civic work has included serving on the East LA Area Planning Commission, board member of CicLAvia, and delegate for the California Democratic Party. She and her husband currently live in Glassell Park. Together, they enjoy meeting local vendors at their neighborhood's farmer's market, learning about environmental sustainability, hiking, and spending time in LA’s vibrant public parks.