Sara L. Taliaferro

Sara Taliaferro runs CSC Engagement Services, LLC, and teaches civic engagement through the University of Kansas (KU) Public Management Center. Sara is a community-centered public engagement specialist with years of experience in the field, often working on policy development in the fields of affordable housing and environmental sustainability.

Sara has worked within community and within local government, developing into a sympathetic and compassionate practitioner who listens to people from all walks of life. She uses her portfolio of experience in project management, national-level event coordination and inclusive leadership to engage with diverse audiences to connect and empower people as equal collaborative partners in community and civic life. Sara is an artist and visual communicator, collaborating over the years with groups of creative social justice change-makers. She loves translating complex information into a relatable human story, blending analyses and collective shared stories into presentations and leadership through the craft of written and spoken narratives and creative imagery.

Sara’s guiding star and purpose is empowering people by believing that they matter and that they deserve to participate as equal partners in local governance, especially those who are most directly impacted. Sara and her collaborators weave shared vision stories through strategic engagement and shape narratives into policy and positive action by working with or through local governments.

Sara is an active member of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and the Midwest Regional Chapter of IAP2 and enjoys networking with professionals and innovators in the Greater Kansas City and Metros. She and administrators, practitioners and community members share insights through conference presentations, webinars, and consulting sessions. Sara values effective public engagement strategies that center people over process, believing that they are critical in navigating toward community relationships characterized by civility and trust.

Sara holds a Masters of Public Administration with certification in public policy, particularly housing and environmental sustainability, through the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration. Sara trained through the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), Mid America Regional Council, Kansas Leadership Center, and the Pepperdine School of Public Policy/Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership.