Sarah Tuneberg

An entrepreneur, technologist, and emergency manager who has worked across government and the private sector leveraging data and technology to solve complex climate change, national security, and disaster response challenges. I have extensive experience assisting the US Federal government, states, municipalities, and large corporations in enhancing their preparedness and response and recovery capabilities. I am an expert on issues related to equity and inclusion in emergency management and disaster response. I spearheaded policy and practice changes within the field including moving from a diagnostic to a functions based approach to vulnerability and the widespread utilization of equity lens theory. I am a thought leader in the space of climate risk assessment, mitigation, and adaptation. Together with my Geospiza team, I pioneered adaptation pathway modeling, a climate risk mitigation strategy, within enterprise business settings. I was tapped by Colorado’s Governor, Jared Polis, to lead the COVID Innovation Response Team in March 2020. My portfolio was then expanded and she was responsible for Statewide COVID-19 testing, containment, and technology. In this role, I built a team from 4 to more than 450, expanded daily testing from 50 to more than 50k, and managed a $1B budget. I am driven by continuous learning and meeting the needs of those who are disenfranchised or marginalized by traditional systems. Sarah has been recognized as the Downtown Denver Partnership’s 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year; a US representative to the 2018 Global Entrepreneur Summit in The Hague, Netherlands; Denver Business Journal’s 2019 40 under 40; a Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow for 2019; and was included in Inc. Magazines Female Founders 100 for 2020.