Staff Spotlight: Meet Sara Grainger, PHC Program Director!

Would you be able to tell me a little about your educational background?
I have a bachelor’s degree from Temple University in Women’s Studies with a minor in English. Then I have a master’s degree in Social Services and a master’s degree in Law and Social Policy, both from Bryn Mawr’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. I’m also a Licensed Social Worker in the state of Pennsylvania.

How did you get into the field of health care non-profit work?
Prior to going to graduate school, most of my experience was in sexual violence and intimate partner violence. I had to do my first year field placement for graduate school and I decided to do something that I had never done before. I ended up interning at Prevention Point Philadelphia as a social work intern. I was working with issues of substance use, mental health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and I loved the work that I did. I was very passionate about it. I had a professor who did most of his field work in HIV and looking at health disparities in public health. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was in school. My first job after I graduated was at Brandywine Counseling and Community Services, in Delaware, overseeing their needle exchange program and two other HIV prevention programs. It was such an honor to take that job because I felt like I was carrying on the work that he was no longer able to do.

What would you say is one of the most rewarding parts of serving as the Program Director for the Philadelphia Health Corps?
One of the most rewarding parts for me is really the interaction with the members. My favorite types of interactions are the one-on-ones that I have with folks, which take place during formal sit-downs, like evaluations and site visits. But it’s also touching base with them at the member meetings and checking in and seeing how they’re doing. It’s a large Corps, so I love the opportunity to sit down with them one-on-one and learn a little more about them personally.

Where do you see Philadelphia Health Corps in 5 years?
Aniela and I are really working hard right now to lay the groundwork to build an even stronger training component in the program and really being intentional about the types of trainings that members are engaging in. I think that outside of Philly Health Corps it’s going to be really important for health care providers, moving forward, to be interdisciplinary because our patients and clients are presenting to us challenges that require an interdisciplinary lens. What we’re hoping to do is really bolster up what we’re offering in terms of training to help develop reflective, thoughtful, engaged, interdisciplinary healthcare providers.

What was the first job you ever had?
My step mom, for about 10 to 15 years, ran a daycare in our home. So one of my earliest jobs, not necessarily on the books, would be going up to visit my dad for the summers and helping at the daycare. We had structured learning time, lots of diaper changes, lots of holding babies, lots of nap time, which is always good. I remember feeling like such a rock star getting paid at the end of each week. It was a lot of fun. It was a really good time.

If you could have dinner with anyone (past, present, or future) who would it be and why?
The first person who came to mind, probably because I was just talking about him, would be my professor Kevin. He had this wonderful quality where he could make you feel like you were the most important person in the room. The one thing that really sucks is that he passed very suddenly, before we got a chance to build an even stronger relationship, so I would love to have dinner with him one-on-one. When I am struggling in my job or making decisions, personally or professionally, I find that he kind of pops up in the weirdest places, so I would love to have that opportunity.