Policy and Advocacy Focus

- Advancing civil rights, digital and physical privacy, and transparent governance
- Strengthening consumer protection and public-private accountability
- Expanding access to education and reforming financial aid
- Rebuilding trust in public institutions through strong civil service and investment in people

Experience

Vice President of External Affairs
UC Santa Barbara Graduate Student Association | 2024 — Present

- Represent 3,000+ graduate students in UC-wide, state, and federal advocacy.
- Engaged directly with U.S. Senate and House staff on financial aid and higher education.
- Appointed by Chancellor to UCSB Police Accountability Board and Chief of Police Search Committee.
- Drafted public comments and led campaigns on academic freedom, ethical governance, and civil liberties.
- Elected for AY24-25; re-elected for a second term in AY25-26.

Marketing & Communications Executive
Multiple B2B SaaS Companies | Remote, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco Bay Area | 2002 — 2022

- Held VP and Director-level roles at high-growth software companies (employee size 20–1000).
- Led cross-functional teams in messaging, product positioning, and market research.
- Collaborated with legal, finance, and executive leadership to ensure alignment and compliance.

Nonprofit Board Leadership
Multiple 501(c)(3) | Santa Barbara, CA | 2013 — Present

- President, Local Sports Nonprofit (organizational creation, governance).
- Board Member, Graduate Student Advocacy Org (strategy, oversight, compliance).
- Board Member, $1M Animal Welfare Nonprofit (oversight).

Education

University of California, Santa Barbara
MA, Religious Studies, 2024 — Present
Focus: Religion, politics, and law; political philosophy; belief systems and governance

University of California, Santa Barbara
BA, English and Economics, 2003

Post-Baccalaureate Courses at UCSB and SBCC
2023, 2024: Statistics, Religion, Psychology, Political Science, Chinese Language
2010, 2015: Writing, Poetry, Nutrition, Acting

Professional

On long-term leave from the tech sector since 2022 to pursue public service, research, and democratic advocacy.

Career Bio: Marketing executive with 20 years B2B SaaS experience. Strength in building and leading high performing, high empathy, high trust teams. Uniquely skilled at leading through change and uncertainty. Adept at developing go-to-market strategy with hands-on tactical expertise managing programs from awareness to revenue to retention.

Please see my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbacon/

Teaching

Political Science 12: American Government and Politics
Teaching Assistant, March 2025 — June 2025

Grateful to work with such engaged and thoughtful students — and honored to receive top evaluations (4.84/5.0 vs. 4.52 dept. avg).

University Service
Active leadership across campus and systemwide governance, with a focus on transparency, accountability, and democratic principles.

LEADERSHIP & REPRESENTATION

Federal Advocacy Trip — Washington, D.C.
Graduate Student Delegation, May 2025

UCSB Graduate Student Association
Vice President, External Affairs, November 2024 — Present
Elected for AY24-25; re-elected for AY25-26

UC Graduate and Professional Council
Board Member, November 2024 — Present
Chair, Compliance and Governance Committee, July 2025 — Present
Member, Finance Committee, July 2025 — Present
Interim Secretary, September 2025

UC SYSTEMWIDE GOVERNANCE

University Committee on Planning and Budget (UCPB)
Graduate Representative, September 2025 — Present
UC Academic Senate

University Committee on Academic Freedom (UCAF)
Graduate Representative, September 2025 — Present
UC Academic Senate

Policies Applying to UCPD (SPA-UCPD) Workgroup
Member, September 2025 — Present
UC Office of the President

LOCAL CAMPUS SERVICE

Academic Senate Council on Faculty Welfare, Academic Freedom & Awards
Graduate Representative, November 2024 — Present
Appointed for AY24-25; re-appointed for AY25-26

Police Accountability Board
Board Member, January 2025 — Present
Appointed by Chancellor

UCSB Chief of Police Search Committee
Committee Member, June 2025 — Present
Appointed by Chancellor

UCSB Student Affairs Student Council
Member, November 2024 — June 2025

UCSB Getman & Villa Awards Committee
Committee Member, April 2025 — May 2025

Public-Facing Advocacy

SELECTED PUBLIC COMMENTS (Video Excerpts)
Known for delivering meaningful, specific, reasonant comments grounded in moral clarity in a variety of governing forums.

Santa Barbara City Council (July 31, 2025)
Spoke on ACLU case (Perdomo v. Noem) and in support of declaration condemning ICE and allocating resources for impacted families

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors (July 15, 2025)
Spoke on Sheriff/ICE collaboration, civilian privacy, upcoming election

Carpinteria City Council (July 10, 2025)
This Council meeting was the same day as a militarized ICE raid in Carpinteria. I gave two comments:

1. Comment to get additional details of the ICE raid on the public record, and urging the City to join ACLU case (Perdomo v. Noem), issue proclamation condemning ICE, and allocating resources for impacted families. (watch comment)
2. Ad hoc unprepared remarks with a question asking to clarify a point about the $5,000 allocation for impacted family members and whether $5,000 was the total size of the pool, or whether that amount was available per applicant. The audience seemed to assume that it was per application, but my comment helped clarify for all that the $5,000 was the total pool. (watch comment)

UC Regents (May 15, 2025)
Spoke in defense of democratic principles and the cost of silence

UC Regents (January 22, 2025)
Spoke on police accountability

UC Regents (November 14, 2025)
Spoke on campus climate, surveillance, shared governance, building trust and dialogue

MEDIA MENTIONS AND INTERVIEWS

SpeechMatters Podcast (March 2025) – Cited by UC Regent as "impactful advocate"

Noozhawk, (November 23, 2024) – "Students Share Priorities for Next Chancellor"

KCSB Interview (August 26, 2024) – "New UC Protest Policy Called 'Authoritarian'"

KCSB Interview (July 18, 2024) – "UC Regents Meeting Faces Protests"

Endorsements & Recommendations

I’m honored to have received recommendations from former colleagues and cross-functional partners.

These testimonials are from my prior leadership roles in the tech industry, where I led marketing and operations teams across fast-growing SaaS companies.

Read below or visit my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbacon/details/recommendations/