Biography

From the start of her career in higher education, Sarah has been dedicated to eliminating barriers to education. Throughout her educational journey, she encountered many obstacles as an impoverished, nontraditional student in West Virginia that threatened her success. As a result, she has dedicated her life’s work to eliminating barriers to access for historically underrepresented students. Her passion for accreditation & compliance, strategic planning, research, and policy was cultivated through her experiences in many education sectors, including two and four-year public and private institutions, K-12, and non-profit work. She has shared her knowledge and passion nationwide through lectures and training about the importance of cultural competency and how it can help eliminate barriers to and within education. Sarah was the first female in her family to graduate college and achieve a graduate degree. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Purdue University, where her dissertation research focuses on cultural competency and higher education strategic planning in Appalachia.