Mayor Regina Romero and the City of Tucson are proud to announce the hiring of Sarah Launius to be the inaugural Community Safety, Health & Wellness program director.
Launius will work closely with the Tucson Police Department, Tucson Fire Department, 911 Communications, Housing, Planning & Development, Code Enforcement, Courts, community organizations, and members of the community to execute the Mayor's vision for community safety, health, and wellness.
Launius brings a wealth of experience building coalitions to advance community safety, health, and wellness for Tucson residents, businesses, and neighborhoods and will continue the city's efforts to engage with the community through surveys, focus groups, and town halls as this effort evolves.
Launius, who most-recently served as the Chief of Staff in Ward 3, has a proven track record of building inter-departmental and inter-agency efforts to advance community-driven quality-of-life improvements. That includes researching, developing, and coordinating a multi-departmental team to address high call-generating vacant and neglected properties and efforts to revitalize neighborhood associations in areas of historical disinvestment, poverty, and crime.
"I have full confidence that Sarah Launius is the right person to successfully guide this initiative from program development to implementation," said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.
Prior to joining the City of Tucson, Launius worked with area nonprofits to develop and coordinate programs and work in collaborative coalitions with public agencies to advance shared goals.
"I am thrilled to be joining the Community Safety, Health & Wellness Program developed by Mayor Romero and the City Council," stated Launius. "My experience working closely with Tucson residents to co-develop solutions to advance their community safety provides an important grounding for the visionary work ahead."
Launius will lead the implementation of this program that developed out of the Mayor’s Community Safety Pilot Program in 2020 and supported by Mayor and Council. Last year, the Mayor’s Office and the City Manager’s Office conducted more than 35 listening sessions, including five ward-specific sessions, during the program's development phase.
Launius' first day with the City of Tucson was Jan. 18.
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