Sarah Haight

Director, 2Gen Practice

Sarah Haight is the director for 2Gen practice at Ascend at the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute’s mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. Ascend is a policy program of the Institute and a hub for breakthrough ideas and collaborations that move children and their parents toward educational success and economic security.

At Ascend, Sarah manages the national Ascend Network; two-generation practice and technical assistance strategies; national convenings, including the 2Gen Practice Institute, ThinkXChange, and roundtables on key areas of 2Gen approaches; and directs programming of special projects, including managing the Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community. Prior to The Aspen Institute, Sarah worked as an editor and journalist at Conde Nast in New York City. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University and has worked as a therapist in direct-practice clinical settings with women with low incomes, with a focus on maternal mental health. She is licensed to practice social work in New York and the District of Columbia. She received her bachelor’s degree from Barnard College.

Stories featuring Sarah Haight

The Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community Phase II sought to find and foster the most effective and innovative strategies to accelerate social and economic mobility for working families with low incomes. To do so, we elevated the voices and expertise of families with lived experience, were guided by 14 advisors, and we brought together 20 …

Innovations Abound to Advance Family Prosperity Read More »

Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation CommunityMay 3, 2023
Ascend at the Aspen Institute builds intergenerational family prosperity and well-being for children and the adults in their lives through a two-generation (2Gen) approach. This mean we intentionally and simultaneously focus on supporting children and the adults in their lives together. We center racial, gender, and economic equity in all our work along with the …

Meeting Young Parents in LA County Where They Dream Read More »

Ascend NetworkApril 27, 2023
In episode 14 of the City of Kalamazoo's Shared Prosperity podcast, Ascend's Sarah Haight sits down with Kevin Ford, the city's Shared Prosperity Kalamazoo Coordinator. Throughout their discussion, they speak about the two-generation (2Gen) approach to improving family and community well-being.
Media MentionsMay 2, 2022
Intake forms are important because you never get a second chance to make a first impression. I'm heartened by Ascend Network partners' efforts to simplify intake processes for families with low incomes involved in two-generation (2Gen) programs.
Ascend NetworkApril 28, 2022
For many of us with young children at home, the pandemic hasn’t just disrupted our lives — it’s turned them upside down, erasing the boundaries between home and work. We’re seeing more and more stories about parents, especially mothers and specifically mothers in low-wage jobs, struggling to balance being a breadwinner and a caregiver. Only 1 …

Breadwinning and Caregiving Don’t Have to Be Incompatible Read More »

Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation CommunityFebruary 21, 2022
Ascend is pleased to announce the six winning organizations of the 2Gen Level Up Competition & Prize. In October, as part of 2Gen Level Up Week, we announced the 2Gen Level Up Competition & Prize that challenged organizations to use the resources released during 2Gen Level Up Week to advance two-generation work. About the 2Gen Level Up …

The 2Gen Level Up Prize Winners Read More »

BlogJanuary 25, 2021
This fall, Ascend at the Aspen Institute launched the Parents’ Voices 2020 Project, the next step in our longstanding effort to cut through the national noise and ask parents directly for their hopes, dreams, challenges, and solutions. With a strategic and intentional focus on racial and gender equity, and an expanded definition of family structures, …

Parents’ Voices 2020: Focus Group Findings Read More »

BlogDecember 1, 2020
Social capital is the “secret sauce” of the two-generation (2Gen) approach. It manifests itself as increased peer support and a sense of community; connections to family, friends, and neighbors; participation in community and faith-based organizations; school and workplace outreach; leadership and professional development programs; engagement with case managers or career coaches; and other social networks …

The Secret Sauce: Strategies to Include Social Capital in Human Services Read More »

BlogNovember 10, 2020
Earlier this year, Ascend launched the Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community, our initiative for breakthrough innovations and collaborations that position families to reach educational success, economic prosperity, health and well-being. As we look toward 2021, opportunities and challenges abound for work-family supportive policies – namely, the future of child care. More than ever, families are …

Family Prosperity: 10 Minutes with a Leading Early Childhood Researcher on Home-Based Care and Opportunities Ahead Read More »

BlogNovember 9, 2020
After a dynamic week of engaging conversations with our Network Partners, Fellows, field, and families, one thing is clear: The #2Gen field is strong. We’re redesigning policy, shifting culture, and adapting to the times in the most skillful, collaborative ways. But can we “Go Big?” Over 8 million families have become poor during 2020, according …

Advice from Four 2Gen Leaders on Scaling Up Read More »

BlogOctober 30, 2020
familyphoto
Our world has changed. The wave of uncertainty touched off by the pandemic is becoming an ongoing process of relearning how to live, work and care for our families. A powerful national movement for racial justice around the world is making clear that we need a new social contract. Our nation faces a reckoning with …

Announcing: New Community of Family Prosperity Innovators Read More »

BlogJuly 28, 2020
Smiling Family With Parents Giving Children Piggyback Rides In Garden At Home
Contact: Lindsay Broyhill Ascend at the Aspen Institute lindsay.broyhill@aspeninstitute.org  Bold Leaders to Advance Innovative Strategies for Families’ Health and Economic Prosperity  Aspen Institute Launches New Partners and Advisors in Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community  Washington, DC â€“ Ascend at the Aspen Institute is proud to announce the new partners and advisors the Aspen Family Prosperity Innovation Community, Ascend’s initiative for breakthrough innovations and collaborations that position families to reach educational …

Bold Leaders to Advance Innovative Strategies for Families’ Health and Economic Prosperity Read More »

BlogJuly 22, 2020
Aspen
States and communities are where policy translates into real life outcomes. For nearly a decade, state and local entities have leveraged various federal programs and funding streams to integrate systems and services through a 2Gen approach. This powerful momentum is bipartisan, practical, scalable and most importantly, centered around families – their needs, their experiences, and their voices.   The new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, Poverty Reduction: …

Virtual Briefing: Milestone Federal Report Drives 2Gen Momentum Read More »

BlogJuly 9, 2020
Family
The last few weeks and months have been profoundly challenging, and illuminated clearly the need for a sea change in the way our country engages with and supports families and communities with low incomes. At Ascend, we are particularly focused on deepening and elevating our efforts to address structural racism, including how systemic inequities impact …

New Report: Principles and Innovations to Drive Family Prosperity Read More »

BlogJune 16, 2020
Aspen Autumn
Dear Ascend Community: Ascend is committed to the work of anti-racism. Seeing and experiencing week after week what Black people and families go through, and the threat of violence they are subjected to on a daily basis, is completely unacceptable and must end. We stand against this ongoing oppression and the white supremacy that breeds …

Statement and Call to Action: Condemn Police Violence and Structural Racism Read More »

BlogJune 3, 2020

Convenings Featuring Sarah Haight

Date: March 2, 2023
Location: Virtual
Please join us for a national briefing on a new, groundbreaking two-generation analysis of families with low incomes across the US. This new comparative analysis of 2011 and 2021 Census data, looking at children and the adults in their lives...
ConveningMarch 2, 2023
Date: April 11, 2023
– April 12, 2023
Location: Virtual & In-Person in Washington, DC
Join us for our fourth Aspen Forum on Children and Families on Tuesday, April 11th and Wednesday, April 12th, 2023. Our 2023 theme is Taking Action for Family Prosperity. We will focus on solutions for policymakers, philanthropists, practitioners,...
ConveningApril 11, 2023
– April 12, 2023
Date: January 27, 2022
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Dr. Rohini Anand’s book, Leading Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Guide for Systemic Change in Multinational Organizations, offers five proven principles for organizations to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion with a nuanced...
ConveningJanuary 27, 2022
Date: June 1, 2021
Location: Virtual
On Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s Family Prosperity Innovation Community hosted a panel discussion about the recently proposed federal legislation on paid leave. This webinar presented how and why this proposed legislation...
ConveningJune 1, 2021