Sarah Weilant

Policy Researcher

Washington Office

Education

M.P.P. in public policy, American University

One Page Bio

Overview

Sarah Weilant is a policy researcher at RAND. As a multidisciplinary policy researcher, she works to affect change in communities, systems, and organizations through her work related to equity, well-being, resilience, workforce and organizational development, transportation resilience, and education. She also considers that collectively, these are all drivers of achieving national security, another focus of her work, with considerations in how to address countering violent extremism, illicit networks, and military sexual assault and harassment. She uses qualitative research methods and leads mixed-methods teams to conduct analysis and provide recommendations applicable to policy and planning. Weilant engages with federal, local and international strategic decisionmakers to design conceptual frameworks and logic models, develop metrics, and design and conduct primary data collection through focus groups, interviews, and U.S. nationally representative surveys. Her work is not only conducted across the U.S., but also includes work in Southeast Asia and Africa.

Her work prior to RAND included refugee resettlement at the International Rescue Committee, and agricultural development in the Peace Corps. Weilant holds a Masters degree in public policy from American University's School of Public Affairs, and a B.A. in French.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Gore, Kristie L., Samantha Cherney, Sarah Weilant, Justin Hummer, Linda Cottrell, and Coreen Farris, Considerations Around the Use of Intensive Outpatient Programs for Service Members Who Experienced Sexual Trauma in the U.S. Military, RAND (RRA668-2), 2023

Weilant, Sarah, Aaron Strong, and Benjamin M. Miller, Incorporating Resilience into Transportation Planning and Assessment, RAND Corporation (RR-3038-TRB), 2019

Linnea Warren May, Laurie T. Martin, Sarah Weilant, Grace Gahlon, Allyson D. Gittens, Douglas Yeung, Rebecca Ann Lawrence, Anita Chandra, COVID-19 Community Response Emerging Themes Across Sentinel Communities, RAND, 2021

Brown, Ryan Andrew, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt, Violent Extremism in America: Interviews with Former Extremists and Their Families on Radicalization and Deradicalization, RAND Corporation (RR-A1071-1), 2021

Curry Hall, Kimberly, Kirsten M. Keller, David Schulker, Sarah Weilant, Katherine L. Kidder, and Nelson Lim, Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: Identifying Barriers to Female Retention, RAND Corporation (RR-2770-DHS), 2019

Tamara Dubowitz1, Christopher Nelson, Sarah Weilant, Jennifer Sloan, Andy Bogart, Carolyn Miller and Anita Chandra, "Factors related to health civic engagement: results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes to understand progress towards a Culture of Health," BMC Public Health, 2020

Bond, Craig A., Aaron Strong, Nicholas Burger and Sarah Weilant, Guide to the Resilience Dividend Valuation Model, RAND (RR-2130), 2017

Alexander D. Rothenberg, Arya Gaduh, Nicholas E. Burger, Charina Chazali, Indrasari Tjandraningsih, Rini Radikun, Cole Sutera, Sarah Weilant, "Rethinking Indonesia’s Informal Sector," World Development, 80, 2016

Languages

French; Wolof

Publications

Report
Accounting for Climate Resilience in Infrastructure Investment Decisionmaking: A Data-Driven Approach for Department of the Air Force Project Prioritization
A new approach allows comparison of infrastructure projects based on their ability to improve installation resilience to climate-related hazards, supporting the Department of the Air Force’s climate resilience investment decisionmaking.
Aug 22, 2023
Report
Considerations Around the Use of Intensive Outpatient Programs for Service Members Who Experienced Sexual Trauma in the U.S. Military
This report summarizes a review of clinical practices and TRICARE requirements for intensive outpatient programs to treat active-duty members affected by the mental health consequences of sexual harassment and sexual assault while in the military.
Jan 10, 2023
Report
Psychological Harms and Treatment of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in Adults: Systematic and Scoping Reviews to Inform Improved Care for Military Populations
Researchers conducted three evidence reviews on interventions for victims of sexual assault and harassment in military settings, barriers and facilitators to accessing care, and associations between victims and specific mental health conditions.
Jan 9, 2023
Research Brief
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault in Military Settings: A Review of Associated Mental Health Conditions, Treatments, and Access to Care
This brief describes three evidence reviews on psychological interventions for victims of sexual assault and harassment in the military, barriers and facilitators to care, and links between assault or harassment and specific mental health conditions.
Jan 9, 2023
Journal Article
COVID-19 Community Response: Emerging Themes Across Sentinel Communities
Since the onset of COVID-19, RAND researchers contributed to four reports on the impact and response in nine communities (Finney Co., Harris Co., Milwaukee, Mobile, San Juan Co., Sanilac Co., Tacoma, Tampa, and White Plains) and four cross-community reports.
Jul 14, 2021
Research Brief
What Do Former Extremists and Their Families Say About Radicalization and Deradicalization in America?
Violent extremism is an evolving, ongoing threat in the United States. This project describes personal accounts of white supremacists, Islamic extremists, and their family members about joining extremist groups and, in some cases, deradicalizing.
Jun 25, 2021
Report
Violent Extremism in America: Interviews with Former Extremists and Their Families on Radicalization and Deradicalization
Terrorism and ideologically inspired violence are persistent and serious threats to U.S. national security. This report uses interviews to explore why and how 32 individuals joined extremist organizations and how some of them exited these groups.
Apr 1, 2021
Journal Article
Factors Related to Health Civic Engagement: Results from the 2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes to Understand Progress Towards a Culture of Health
Health civic engagement may help improve conditions that influence health and well-being for all. Focusing on individuals' sense of community and highlighting investments in community health may be associated with increased health civic engagement and improved community and population health.
Jul 24, 2020
Tool
Getting To Outcomes® Operations Guide for U.S. Air Force Community Action Teams: Content Area Module for Workplace Stress Prevention and Reduction in the Air Force
This content area module for workplace stress prevention and reduction is a companion volume to the Getting To Outcomes Operations Guide for U.S. Air Force Community Action Teams. It includes guidance, resources, and examples of completed tools.
Apr 30, 2020
Report
Incorporating Resilience into Transportation Planning and Assessment
RAND researchers explore how to better incorporate principles of resilience into the decisionmaking process for long-term transportation planning.
Oct 16, 2019
Report
2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes: Description and Top-Line Summary Data
This report describes the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Survey of Health Attitudes, part of the foundation's efforts to build a Culture of Health in America, and provides the survey text and summary statistics.
May 1, 2019
Report
Improving Gender Diversity in the U.S. Coast Guard: Identifying Barriers to Female Retention
This report documents the results of a study designed to help identify the root causes of female attrition in the active-duty Coast Guard and develop recommendations to help mitigate identified barriers to Coast Guard female retention.
Mar 29, 2019
Research Brief
Why Do Women Leave the Coast Guard, and What Can Be Done to Encourage Them to Stay?
For active-duty women, many complex factors influence the decision to stay in or separate from the Coast Guard. This brief summarizes research on these factors and makes recommendations for improving female retention in the Coast Guard.
Mar 29, 2019
Research Brief
Data and Family Planning: An Evaluation of Two Programs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
This brief summarizes an evaluation of two programs to help monitor progress toward a global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020. Both programs can improve promotion of country-driven agendas for data collection, use, and ownership.
Feb 5, 2018
Report
Evaluation of Two Programs Supporting Global Family Planning Data Needs: Assessing Achievements, Informing Future Directions
This evaluation of two programs that help monitor progress toward a global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020 is based on qualitative and quantitative data from interviews with more than 260 stakeholders in 16 countries.
Feb 5, 2018
Report
Evaluation of Two Programs Supporting Global Family Planning Data Needs: Summary
This report summarizes an evaluation of two programs that help monitor progress toward a global goal to increase modern contraceptive use by 2020.
Feb 5, 2018
Report
Guide to the Resilience Dividend Valuation Model
This guide provides an overview of and guidance on the Resilience Dividend Valuation Model, a framework designed to help policymakers and practitioners estimate the resilience dividend from projects they are considering or have implemented.
Aug 1, 2017
Report
Resilience Dividend Valuation Model: Framework Development and Initial Case Studies
This report describes the development of the Resilience Dividend Valuation Model, a complementary framework designed to help communities estimate the resilience dividend from resilience projects or investment.
Aug 1, 2017
Tool
Assessing Impact to Inform Decisions: A Toolkit on Measures for Policymakers
This toolkit provides a very brief overview of how to identify concepts that should be measured by policymakers, how to evaluate measures, and how to identify new measures that can contribute to better-informed decisions, plans, and assessments.
Jul 25, 2017
Journal Article
Economic Evaluation of Coastal Land Loss in Louisiana
This study quantifies the economic assets and activity that is at risk from the process of land loss in coastal Louisiana in a future without restoration and protection efforts to minimize or mitigate land loss.
Jul 19, 2017
Report
How Cultural Alignment and the Use of Incentives Can Promote a Culture of Health: Stakeholder Perspectives
This report draws on interviews with Culture of Health stakeholders whose work focused on culture, incentives, or both to learn how organizations are addressing and leveraging culture and incentives to promote health and well-being.
Apr 14, 2017
Journal Article
Drivers of Health as a Shared Value: Mindset, Expectations, Sense of Community and Civic Engagement
A shared understanding of health as a cultural value is key to achieving an equitable health system and a culture of health.
Nov 28, 2016
Report
Collaborative Disaster Preparedness: Vietnam, the United States, and Regional Experiences (Proceedings from Da Nang, Vietnam, August 18–20, 2015)
This report summarizes the workshop on Collaborative Disaster Preparedness that was conducted in August 2015 in Da Nang, Vietnam, and hosted by the Collaborative & Adaptive Security Initiative.
May 19, 2016
Journal Article
Rethinking Indonesia's Informal Sector
This paper reviews competing theories about the causes of informality in developing countries and uses new data to determine which theory best explains the persistence and scale of Indonesia's informal sector.
Apr 18, 2016
Report
Development of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Survey of Health Attitudes: Description and Top-Line Summary Data
This report describes the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Survey of Health Attitudes, part of the foundation's Culture of Health strategy. It describes the survey development and provides the survey text and summary statistics of the data.
Jan 21, 2016
Commentary
Lessening the Risk of Refugee Radicalization: Lessons for the Middle East from Past Crises
The exodus from Syria raises questions about whether refugee concentrations will become incubators for violent extremist groups. This Perspective examines how past situations were managed and the factors most likely to contribute to radicalization.
Dec 28, 2015
Report
Reforming Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Indonesia
Investigates constraints small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face and how existing programs do -- or do not -- help reduce these constraints, and includes recommendations on the importance of credit and on the need to remove information barriers.
Jul 20, 2015
Journal Article
Economic Evaluation of Coastal Land Loss in Louisiana
This report presents an economic evaluation of assets and activities at risk from land loss and associated storm damage in coastal Louisiana. The results show a significant level of risk to economic assets and activity in Louisiana.
2015