About Sara Ochoa

It’s about holding space for those who have been left behind, and making space in our “Big Tent” for all.

Sara served as South Area Vice Chair between October 2019 and June 2024. She was elected during a time of great internal Party tumult and implemented a series of changes based on member feedback to increase transparency, clarity, accessibility, and fairness. Under Sara’s leadership, the area navigated unprecedented challenges including continuing to foster camaraderie and new voter contact strategies during the pandemic, several special elections, and newsworthy tumult related to Democrats in the area. Through it all, Sara has continued to help elect our endorsed Democrats win elections, most recently engaging early and effectively to help elect Paloma Aguirre to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Raised in a small, rural town in a family of farmers and teachers and nonprofit leaders, the values of servant leadership and care for community have embedded into her work within San Diego political spaces.

Sara moved to San Diego for college, married young, then divorced young with two little ones. In the early years, her family was sustained and uplifted by programs such as SNAP and Medi-Cal to Work. Sara understands and has experienced the challenges of barely getting by despite working consistently.  She worked a series of jobs until she found a professional home working for an environmental attorney. This provided a pathway to her political activism.

This activism deepened years later, when Sara joined other advocates demanding accountability and reforms from the Democratic Party. It was not an idle process of demanding that others act but rather began an organizing campaign of meeting with a coalition of concerned women around the county. Sara was motivated to learn how the Party operates, the Bylaws and committees and relationships and "small d" democracy opportunities to make positive change.

A renter her entire adulthood with family throughout the county, Sara has lived and spent significant time everywhere from the beaches and the border region to the mountains and desert. She knows that people are the experts in their own lives and communities, and when we listen and respond as the people who comprise this institution, we build credibility and efficacy. The Party needs to provide the infrastructure that partners with and is responsive to the Democrats doing the work in their own neighborhoods.

Sara’s leadership centers making intentional space for candidates, elected officials, volunteers, campaign staff, and community members. Holding space for dissent and constructive criticism is necessary for constant evolution for an effective organization in a rapidly changing world. 

“The Party” is us, it is not about one. If we want it to be better, we must be better, and focus on unity over division.

Sara is ready to work with anyone who is ready to make this Party better. Better for you, your neighbor, the working family, the immigrant, the unhoused, and the trans child. Service above self, that is Sara and she appreciates your consideration for Party Chair.