Sara Schlagel is the Senior Vice President of Children’s Mercy + Camber Mental Health. Schlagel has been with KVC for over 13 years, currently serving as Vice President of Administration for Camber Mental Health. For more than a decade, Sara’s steadfast commitment to enhancing Camber’s culture, programming, employee training, safety, quality assurance and compliance has helped make it the Midwest regional leader in children’s inpatient psychiatric treatment.

Previously, Sara served as Vice President of Administration at Camber Children’s Mental Health, where she oversaw administrative operations for Camber’s children’s psychiatric treatment centers in Kansas. Leading in the areas of programming, staff development, compliance, and quality assurance, Sara partnered with leadership to promote best practices and innovation and worked to enhance employee engagement, DEIB and special projects. 

Sara also previously served as Director of Program and Staff Development and Program Director at Camber Kansas City. She also held other leadership roles with KVC Kansas, which is a sister organization to Camber Mental Health, and a local community mental health center. She has international experience providing consulting services to schools, psychiatric hospitals, and residential centers as well as extensive experience working with families through the Strengthening Families program, survivors of human trafficking, and providing services and support to immigrant families.

As a nationally certified Trauma Systems Therapy trainer, Sara provides training on trauma-informed care, enhancing client experiences and service-provider safety. Along with 13 years of experience working in mental health, she is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Sara has a master’s degree in social work from Washburn University and is licensed as a clinical social worker and specialist clinical social worker.

“I’m proud to work for an organization that strives to identify and meet the needs of our communities head-on. We push ourselves to be resourceful in our work with children and families and drive innovative treatment practices.”—Sara Schlagel