Sarah Tanksley is a respected communications specialist with years of state government experience. Sarah has spent her career honing her communications skills, media relations capabilities and strong organizational skills, which she uses to execute strategic campaigns that advance SRG client objectives. Before joining SRG, Sarah was the communications and media relations director for the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH). There she oversaw the state’s COVID-19 communications response and advanced many public health priorities, including opioid overdose awareness, suicide prevention, maternal health, and childhood immunizations, among others.

• Before joining TDH, Sarah served as the director of communications for the Division of TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program.  There she directed communications strategy for major Medicaid policy implementations, including eligibility redetermination, the approval of the TennCare III Waiver, and the Katie Beckett Program.
• Sarah’s experience also includes working in Washington, D.C., for the leading organization representing community-owned utility companies across the United States. There she worked on federal public power and energy issues, coordinated the association’s political action committee, and served as the liaison for the Policy Makers Council, a select committee of elected officials from public power communities that educates and advocates on behalf of the association.
• Sarah has experience in social media outreach and campaign development, from developing and launching campaigns to generate awareness, to maintaining successful organic social media engagement. 
• Sarah received her Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University in political science and has a Masters of Public Administration from Tennessee State University.