Sarah Lopez

Sarah Lopez didn’t grow up dreaming of running for local office, but when she got elected as a County Commissioner for Sedgwick County, she broke the glass ceiling and opened up a whole world of possibilities. When we had the opportunity to speak, she took me back to when she was a young mom working at Sonic at 17 and navigating new motherhood without a roadmap — or paid leave. “There was no such thing,” she said. “I had my baby and was back at work three weeks later.”

Twenty years, five kids, and a pioneering career later, she’s changed that reality for others. As the first Latina, the first woman, and the youngest person to serve as a Sedgwick County Commissioner in Kansas, Lopez made it her mission to make her local government more accessible and more humane.

Lopez was elected in 2020 and took office in 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of intense division, policy whiplash, and burnout for public leaders. But Lopez, described by her community as “steady” and “grounded,” led with a different ethic: common sense and compassion.

She worked closely with community organizations like GLSEN and Moms Demand Action, building relationships that helped her show up as both a policymaker and a neighbor. “When I left office in 2025, the thing I was proudest of wasn’t any headline,” she said. “It was that my authenticity was still intact.”

Lopez’s journey as a public servant is entirely intertwined with her journey as a mother. Over two decades, she navigated five pregnancies, each shaped by a system that offered little to no support. With her second child, Avery, she had to quit her job entirely. For Joey, her third, she cobbled together four weeks off using vacation time followed by unpaid leave.

But it was during her term as county commissioner that she faced her most challenging, and most defining, chapter. Lopez became the first sitting commissioner in Sedgwick County history to give birth while in office; and not just once, but with twins.

At the time, there was no formal paid parental leave for county employees. And while a policy allowed employees to bring newborns to work for the first six months, Lopez quickly learned that it came with an unspoken stigma: “It felt like there was an unwritten rule that you just didn’t do it.”

She did it anyway.

“I brought my twins to the office with me, even when it was hard,” she said. “ I wanted people to see how hard it really is, and that it matters to show up, even when it’s messy.”

Her example created a ripple effect. Soon, other employees began bringing their children too. And more importantly, she sparked policy change.

Lopez pushed for Sedgwick County to adopt paid parental leave, not only for mothers, but for all parents. She found an unexpected ally in fellow commissioner Ryan Baty, who recently had become a father himself. Together, they fought for eight weeks of paid leave, even when others on the commission wanted less.

“If we say we’re a family-friendly organization,” she told them, “we need to act like it.”

Lopez explained the physical, emotional, and mental toll of childbirth, the importance of healing, and the need for both parents to be present. “It’s not just about the mothers, it’s about families,” she said. “It’s about showing people they matter.”

After the policy passed, more men than women used the leave, something Lopez sees as a clear sign of cultural change. “People have stopped me and thanked me,” she said. “It made a difference.”

Just two days after leaving the hospital, Lopez returned to work with her newborn twins. And while the staff at Sedgwick County were overwhelmingly supportive, “an organization unlike any other,” she said, the public wasn’t always so kind.

Heading into an election year, her opponent used her motherhood as a weapon. A call was made to Child Protective Services. Threats were posted online. She had to place security at her children’s school. At one point, she issued a public statement asking for decency and an end to personal attacks.

Even through the darkest moments, she kept going. “I had to,” she said. “Because the work mattered. And because the future I wanted wasn’t just for me, it was for every working parent who comes next.”

One of the biggest surprises of her time in office was the friendship she built with fellow commissioner David Dennis. Lopez and Dennis were different in nearly every way — from their age and background, to lived experience. 

But over time, they developed mutual trust and respect. They even recorded a conversation for StoryCorps’ One Small Step project. “It reminded me that partisanship on the local level is so unnecessary,” she said. “David and I should be a case study in how to work together.”

People often ask Lopez how she got so much done in just four years. What they don’t ask, but should, is how heavy it all was.

“The mental load,” she said. “Having two newborns. Going home at night and feeling like a failure. It was one of the hardest times of my life, emotionally and mentally.”

But she kept showing up. For her kids. For her staff. For her community.Because she knew, deep down, she was fighting for the right thing.“If you know in your heart that you’re fighting for the right thing,” she said, “it’ll be worth it.”

Lopez believes the best policy should be building trust for its constituents. “If you want people to stay in government work, or any job really, show them that you’ll care for them when they’re building a family. That’s how you build loyalty. Through action, not just words.”

For Lopez, that meant pushing for paid leave, modeling compassion, and showing the human side of leadership, even when it made her vulnerable. “Government leaders forget sometimes that our staff are also our constituents,” she said. “They deserve the same care and respect we give the public.”

Lopez’s hope for her community is simple yet radical.

“I want us to strip politics out of our daily lives,” she said. “The ‘us vs. them’ mindset is killing us. We need to go back to just caring about each other, and taking care of each other.”

Getting there will take courage. As for the rest of us? Lopez hopes her story helps people believe in what’s possible.

“You’re capable of more than you think,” she said. “I shouldn’t be where I am today. But here I am, and still fighting.”

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