Sarah Cross serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) overseeing the Office of Refugee Admissions. Prior to returning to public service, Sarah served as Advocacy Director for the International Migration Initiative at Open Society Foundations, where she led the Program’s efforts to rebuild U.S. refugee protection. From October 2016 through November 2017 Sarah served as Director for Refugee and Migration Policy at the National Security Council, overseeing interagency coordination around refugee resettlement and U.S. engagement in multilateral fora on international migration policy. During her first tenure in PRM, from 2008-2016, Sarah served as the Bureau’s strategic planner, most recently leading the Bureau’s efforts to prepare for President Obama’s Leaders’ Summit on Refugees.
Before coming to the State Department, Sarah worked with a number of advocacy and social service organizations, both domestically and internationally. From August 2020 to January 2021, Sarah served on the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bowdoin College; a Master’s Degree in Forced Migration from Oxford University; and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Georgetown University.