WELCOME SARAH BUCHANAN

Sarah Buchanan serves as the Executive Vice President for the San Diego Housing Federation. Her areas of responsibility span organizational strategy and effectiveness, member engagement, execution of programs, human resources strategy and compliance, and strategic partnerships.

Sarah has over 15 years of experience navigating deadlines, orchestrating complex deadlines, and developing strong and lasting relationships with colleagues, donors, and elected officials. Her areas of expertise include leadership; engagement, experience, and culture; diversity, equity & inclusion; analytics; and board governance. As a visionary leader, Sarah has had continued success in driving innovation, operational excellence, and strategic collaborations. She is best known for creating an organizational culture that thrives on authenticity, kindness, vulnerability, and transparency. Sarah believes that focusing on her team's well-being drives positive experiences for the sector.

Awarded San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Equality Business Association’s Top 50 LGBTQ+ Leaders of 2023, San Diego Metro’s Woman of Influence and 40 Under 40 in 2020, Bring the Music Initiative’s Music Mentor of the Year in 2021, and named finalist for San Diego Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2022, SDHF’s Hearth Stone Ruby Award in 2022, and Women of Influence’s Woman to Watch in 2020, she exemplifies what it means to go above and beyond in her work and life.

Known for her dedication and hard work, Sarah tackles challenges with positive energy and insightful solutions. Giving back is a priority for Sarah. She devotes significant time to serving the community through volunteerism, curating fundraising events, and music instruction for youth in the foster care system. Sarah has cultivated relationships with nonprofit organizations across the country and organized more than 400 opportunities to give back through donations and volunteerism. Sarah currently serves as a board member for Circulate San Diego and ICON National Cares. Sarah earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Native American Studies from the University of Oklahoma.

Awards and Recognition

San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Equality Business Association’s Top 50 LGBTQ+ Leaders of 2023
San Diego Business Journal’s – 40 Under 40 Finalist in 2022
San Diego Housing Federation's Ruby Awards – Hearth Stone Award 2022
Bring the Music Initiative’s – Mentor of the year 2021
San Diego Metro’s – 40 Under 40 Award for 2020
San Diego Metro’s – Woman of Influence for 2020
Women of Influence – Woman to Watch Finalist 2020Type your paragraph here.