Sara Llansa Petty is passionate about ensuring that all students, regardless of their socioeconomic background, have access to the information and support they need to reimagine what is possible and unlock their full potential. She has a decade of experience as a district administrator who led and scaled EMERGE, an innovative and highly successful college access program that prepares and empowers high-performing students from underserved communities to attend and graduate from selective colleges and universities across the nation. 

Currently, Sara serves as the Director of Pre-College Success at TeenSHARP, a national college access organization. She is responsible for scaling the program to reach even more students and providing direct support to a caseload of talented students from low-income backgrounds on their path to top colleges. She is also a part-time college counselor and editor with Collegewise, the nation’s largest college admissions organization.

Sara holds a master's in the Human Dimensions of Organizations (HDO) from UT Austin and a bachelor's in International Relations and Education from Brown University. She currently serves on several boards, including the Latino Education Advancement Fund (LEAF), the Texas Association for College Admission Counseling (TACAC), and UT Austin’s Human Dimension of Organizations Advisory Board. Sara regularly presents at state and national conferences and consults with districts and organizations on developing innovative programs and content that boost postsecondary outcomes for students.