Salem State Civic Center Honors Board Of Health's Sara Moore

SALEM, MA — For more than two years, Sara Moore has been on the front line of the Salem Board of Health's challenging — and occasionally divisive — efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the city.

During that time, the Salem State University associate professor of sociology has also continued to teach her students — both remotely and in person — on issues of gender, sexuality, health and well-being, family life and activism.

Last week, Salem State's Center for Civic Engagement honored Moore for all her contributions both in the classroom and within the greater community with its Hall of Fame Award.

The Salem State CCE Hall of Fame award is given annually to a Salem State student, alumna/us, faculty, and staff or administrator to recognize their sustained commitment and passion to addressing social and environmental challenges facing our communities.

Moore was recognized for encouraging her students to collaborate with community partners beyond the university to identify and examine social inequities and create meaningful social change.

Moore has also worked with students and the greater community on issues of civic engagement, health equity, education and food justice.

As a member of the Board of Health, she was a vocal advocate for targeted approaches to mitigating virus spread among vulnerable Salem populations during virus surges and the busy Halloween tourist season, while also supporting rolling back some of the city's various restrictions when possible as virus cases declined.

"It's really important for people to understand," Moore said as the Board of Health rescinded the January indoor mask and proof-of-vaccination orders, "that the pandemic is dynamic. COVID is dynamic. We have a set of tools in our toolboxes that include wearing high-quality masks, vaccinations, and vaccination mandates. So I think we absolutely made the right decision.

"The numbers speak clearly to that. But I do agree that there has been a drastic decrease so I feel comfortable with rescinding the mandates."

Moore also serves on the Board of Directors for both the Salem Education Foundation
and Voices Against Injustice.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)