Sarah recently received a BS in Environmental Studies with a focus in Ecology from the University of North Carolina-Asheville and holds a BFA in painting from Boston University. In 2021, Sarah was a McCullough Fellow at UNCA. She conducted independent, mixed methods research about the impact of past land use on the biodiversity of herbaceous plants in Southern Appalachia. She is also a botanical illustrator, and created a hand-illustrated interpretive field guide to native flora present at her research location. Sarah is passionate about conservation biology and forest ecology. She is interested in studying how ectomycorrhizal fungal networks influence soil ecology and the resilience of higher trophic levels in the wake of anthropogenic disturbance. With a background in grassroots activism, Sarah also wants to build a career that helps make environmental science more accessible, equitable and diverse. When not talking about ecological connectivity or mycology, Sarah loves to camp, bake sourdough and trail run with her dogs. She is also a tattoo artist, bicycle mechanic and feminist science fiction nerd.