Board Member Knizhnik represents District 18, which includes portions of Buffalo Grove, Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer, Lake Zurich, Long Grove and Vernon Hills.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and earned a Master’s degree from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She served as a university-level, English-as-a-Second-Language Instructor at various universities in the Chicago area for 17 years before becoming a professional gun violence prevention (GVP) and criminal justice reform advocate in 2017. Most recently she served as the Organizer of the Illinois Gun Violence Prevention Coalition and then as Director of Community Engagement for Newtown Action Alliance (NAA), a national gun violence prevention organization founded in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy. Sara served as the Director of Constituent Affairs for State Representative Bob Morgan (IL-58). She also served for two years as a Vernon Township Trustee. Currently, Sara is Chair of the Lake County Violence Prevention Initiative. She believes passionately in local government and in the power of grassroots activists to build a better America. Sara lives in Vernon Hills, IL with her husband and two children.