—Sarah Koski '06, Homelessness and Outreach Resources Liaison, Lane Transit District
Her work includes riding the bus and walking along train tracks. She also wheels a wagon full of bottled water around Eugene. It’s Sarah Koski’s dream job: supporting the unhoused community in Lane County, Oregon.
Koski, who graduated with a degree in political science in 2006 from the University of Oregon’s College of Arts and Sciences, works for Lane Transit District as a homelessness and outreach resources liaison. It’s her latest job in a career devoted to her passion for humanitarian work.
“A lot of us are taught early on: success equals a big city, a global firm or a high-powered job. But that’s just one version of success and not the only path,” Koski said. “Sometimes, working in your own community or in a smaller market creates a bigger impact because your voice isn’t lost in the noise. You also build trust more quickly, and your work is more visible.”
Starting a career after graduation
As a political science student, Koski was focused on political strategy, but after graduation she shifted her focus from politics to philanthropy. She received formative training in fundraising under the mentorship of former UO President Dave Frohnmayer and Vice President for Advancement Allan Price, while serving in the development office at Clark Honors College. “Learning from these two men was a monumental gift. Their guidance in understanding the donor mindset, crafting compelling philanthropic stories and building confidence in making the ‘big financial ask’ shaped my entire career,” Koski said.
Koski went on to build her expertise in nonprofit development with organizations such as Volunteers in Medicine and the American Red Cross, before stepping into an executive director role with a regional nonprofit in Lane County. In that role, she assisted with fieldwork and narrative strategy for the Holiday Farm Fire in the McKenzie River Valley. She also represented faith-based leaders on a statewide level as a member of the Governor’s Regional Solutions advisory team.
Working on the ground in Eugene and Lane County
Koski also served as chair of the Lane County Community Organizations Active in Disaster, working long hours to assist in the rebuild and recovery of Blue River, Oregon, after the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire wiped out an entire rural town.
Moving from big-picture thinking to the “dirty work” of walking through mud, wiping away tears and cleaning housing lots, Koski shifted her focus to a more human aspect. “I went from a cold-hearted strategist to an introspective revival, helping humans and heartbeats make it out of a really traumatic situation. When you lose your home to a natural disaster, you lose everything.”
“I tell people all the time that if I don't have the soil of Lane County or Eugene under my nails, or if I don't have the mud from the McKenzie River in the back of my car, I'm not doing my job right,” Koski said.
After the Blue River recovery effort, Koski expanded her work into emergency management. In 2021, she and a team of peers organized Oregon’s first county-wide disaster response dedicated solely to the unhoused. As triple-digit heat gripped the region, their coordinated efforts — distributing water and conducting twice-daily wellness checks — helped ensure that Lane County was one of the only counties in Oregon without heat-related deaths during the extreme temperatures. This was her first experience working directly with the unhoused and it changed the focus of her work. She soon went to work for St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County.
Finding “pulse of joy” in her work
As case manager of St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County’s safe sleep sites, with close to 98 residents, Koski was chosen by Estée Lauder as one of its first “Top 100 Global Women Leaders” and received a Vital Voices Visionary Fellowship in 2022. She was part of a cohort of 50 women from around the world chosen for their leadership in politics, economic development and civics.
“My application focused on what we can do in our own backyard and what we’re seeing from a hyper-local perspective. While I wanted to work overseas helping folks in crisis, I realized everything that I wanted to do for an organization like Médecins Sans Frontières or Amnesty was needed just blocks away from my home,” she said.
The fellowship and leadership training opened new doors for Koski. In 2024, the Oregon Commission for Women named her Woman of the Year. She now serves as a Senate-appointed Oregon Women’s Commissioner, directly advising the Office of the Governor and working to champion women leaders while guiding policymakers on issues of equity. While Koski is grateful for the recognition, she sees these honors not as endpoints but as steppingstones toward deeper service to her community.
“The awards and recognitions have been opportunities to open the door to higher levels, to bring the voice of the street to key decision and policy makers,” Koski said.
Koski shared that she now knows her calling: to help people feel seen and heard, and to make real change in the unhoused community. Finding her passion and the success that came with it is because she has followed her “pulse of joy,” which she encourages others to do as well.
—By Grace Connolly, College of Arts and Sciences
For more from Sarah Koski, watch her TEDx Talk, "Care in Crisis: Helping the Homeless Using what3words."