Sarah received her PhD in the field of plant biology from Cornell University in 2009, for which she conducted an interdisciplinary study combining work in plant molecular biology with science communication. Her dissertation focused on the controversy over genetically engineered papaya in developing countries with a specific focus on Thailand. She came to Cornell after completing a BA in biology at Reed College. Lured by great weather, plenty of water and an unbeatable intellectual environment, she remained at Cornell University after completing her PhD to help lead a global project to help protect the world’s wheat from wheat stem rust.

Sarah is the founder and inaugural director of the Alliance for Science—a global communications effort based at the Boyce Thompson Institute that promotes evidence-based decision-making in agriculture. She currently serves as Lead, Stakeholder Communications at Pairwise, an innovative start-up based in North Carolina.  Sarah grew up in a small agricultural village in northwest Illinois and now lives with her family in Ithaca.