Rachel Sadlon

Rachel Sadlon, MPH, CHES®

Rachel Sadlon is a public health leader committed to advancing health and educational equity through K-12 school health research, policy, and practice. With over 15 years of experience, she combines deep expertise in school health programs and services, positive youth development, and prevention and implementation science with demonstrated success in leveraging cross-sector partnerships to address the social determinants of health and education. Grounded in the belief that healthy and present students are more engaged learners, Rachel brings a strategic, data-driven, and systems-level approach to improving student and school community outcomes.

She currently serves as the Interim Assistant Superintendent for the Division of Health and Wellness at the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). In this role, Rachel provides executive leadership, interagency coordination, and strategic direction for the agency’s health and wellness, child nutrition, and attendance portfolios, ensuring that health and wellbeing are fully integrated into the District's education strategy. She leads a team of 40+ staff, stewards $100M+ in public investments, and drives policy, data-informed strategy, performance oversight, and capacity-building to achieve measurable impact across 250 public and public charter schools. As part of OSSE's strategic plan, Rachel spearheads cross-agency initiatives addressing student health and safety, staff wellness, school climate, and social-emotional learning, as well as efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and truancy. In addition, she is a Mayoral Appointee to the Healthy Youth and Schools Commission and sits on the Coordinating Council on School Behavioral Health.

Previously, Rachel served as Director of Healthy Schools and Wellness Programs at OSSE, where she led the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs spanning health and physical education, environmental literacy and outdoor learning, educator wellness, and mental and behavioral health. During her tenure, she launched a school mental health workforce pipeline initiative; developed the nation’s first state menstrual health education standards; redesigned a technical assistance grant program aligned with the CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework; produced the District’s triennial Environmental Literacy Plan; and updated state physical education standards.

Prior to joining OSSE, Rachel was Associate Director of Research and Evaluation at the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools and was an adjunct faculty member at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health . Over the course of her career, she has held roles in academia, local government, and the nonprofit sector, and has provided strategic consultation to health systems, local health departments, education technology companies, family foundations and federal agencies. Her work appears in peer-reviewed publications, reports, and official position statements, and she has presented at national and international events. Rachel attended the University of Connecticut, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Public Health. She also earned a Certificate in Health Policy from the George Washington University and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) through the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. In 2022, she was awarded the Dr. Robert Synovitz Emerging Professional Award from the American School Health Association.