Sarah Madison Woodward

Adjunct Lecturer - SISE

Sarah Woodward, PhD, is a visual artist, educator, and public art program director. She is passionate about the role of the arts in youth and community development and she enjoys pursuing collaborative and interdisciplinary work that forges connections between the arts and education, justice, public health, entrepreneurial, and environmental sectors. 

As a native New Orleanian, she believes that creativity is our greatest resource.

Dr. Woodward works full-time with the Arts Council New Orleans (dba Arts New Orleans), where she serves as Programs Director overseeing the organization’s public art and placemaking program.  In 2016, she co-founded Young Artist Movement (YAM), Arts New Orleans' arts education and youth workforce development program.  In the Bay Area, Sarah worked for an innovative youth development organization, the Mural Music & Arts Project, and was co-owner of a cooperative studio and gallery in San Francisco. 

Dr. Woodward received her BA in Psychology from Stanford University and her PhD in Urban Studies from Tulane University’s City, Culture and Community Program. Through her doctoral research with the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans, she focused on the impact of charter school reforms on arts education in New Orleans, and the role of the arts in promoting academic, socio-emotional, and professional outcomes for youth.  Dr. Woodward is an Adjunct Lecturer in Tulane’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SISE) program, where she teaches the Arts & Social Impact course.