Sarah was born and raised in the suburbs of Annapolis,
Maryland, where she spent the majority of her time
on the Chesapeake Bay and on camping trips in the
Appalachians with family. Her upbringing nurtured
an appreciation and curiosity for natural systems.
In 2016 she graduated from the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental
Science, focusing on ecological processes. During
her schooling, she embarked on a series of summer
solo road trips spanning across the United States.
Her interest in environmental conservation and yearning
for discovery led her over 60,000 miles, exploring
and living in 25+ national parks and marine sanctuaries.
Becoming informed about the critical resources in
the U.S. park system quickly evolved from a hobby
into a set of research goals. After graduating, she
was employed in Dr. Chris Swan's ecology laboratory
at UMBC, assisting graduate students with stream metacommunity
health and urban biodiversity studies.
Afterwards, she returned to school to earn a Certificate
in Ecosystem Restoration, where her final project
focused on the ecology of coral reefs and global restoration
practices.
In 2017, Sarah was recruited to become a science
and research intern in the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory
at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt,
Maryland. For over two years she worked on a diverse
team led by Dr. Assaf Anyamba and Dr. Radina Soebiyanto,
as part of the GESTAR Program within the Universities
Space Research Association. Her team focused on developing
climate-based analytical tools for monitoring, mapping,
and forecasting waterborne and vector-borne diseases
globally. After leaving GSFC, she moved to the Gulf
of Thailand for divemaster training, before relocating
to Oahu.
Sarah was awarded the NOAA Nancy Foster Scholarship
in 2020 and is a full-time graduate assistant for
the Department of Natural Sciences. Her research focuses
on Wedge-tailed Shearwater plastic ingestion rates,
and characterizing the oceanographic features used
by these seabirds while foraging in the Hawaiian Islands
Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. She is co-advised
by Dr. David Hyrenbach at HPU, and Dr. Elliott Hazen
at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
