Sara Stolt
Health and Human Services Interim Commissioner
As Interim Commissioner of HHS, Sara Stolt oversees all Divisions within HHS, the state’s largest agency operating eight regional human service centers, the Life Skills and Transition Center in Grafton and the State Hospital in Jamestown. Sara and her team facilitate key projects, bringing change management and process improvement to all major HHS efforts. In this role, Sara also oversees the day-to-day operations of the agency and supports key decision-making.
Sara founded The Project Company and has spent nearly 20 years working on internal operations for nonprofits and businesses, including the Dakota Medical Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, YWCA Cass Clay, and United Way. Sara joined the Department of Human Services (DHS) as the Chief Operating Officer in 2019. She worked primarily with DHS colleagues, the North Dakota Association of Counties, and county social service leaders to support the transition from a county to a human service zone administrative structure and to develop pilot programs redesigning child welfare processes, childcare licensing, and other service areas to achieve efficiencies and better outcomes for clients. Sara was a member of the Integration Leadership Team that led the integration process of the Department of Health and Department of Human Services to one HHS team in September 2022.
In 2023, Sara was selected as a prestigious Henry G. Toll fellow and as a participant in the 2023-24 cohort of the Milbank Memorial Fund’s Emerging Leaders Program. Sara earned her bachelor's degree in speech and mass communications from North Dakota State University and a master's degree in strategic leadership from the University of Mary in Bismarck.