Sarah has always been passionate about environmental issues. Born and raised in Ontario, she enjoyed staying active by supporting local sporting and environmental initiatives.  Sarah has remained physically active and is currently training for a half marathon this October.  She moved to the Island in 2004 to complete her B.Sc. degree and is now finishing her M.Sc. at UPEI.

Sarah served as the President of the Graduate Students’ Association and Graduate Student Representative to the Student Union at UPEI in 2010-2011.  Before that, she was the Ombudsperson for the UPEI Student Union.

During her time as president of the Graduate Student Association, Sarah established the “Become Proactive Campaign”, which asked all students, staff and faculty to choose a more environmentally friendly way to travel to campus during the BP oil spill in the Spring of 2010.  She believes that the environment is an integral part of the lives of all Islanders and that it plays a role in all of the socio-economic issues on PEI.

Currently, Sarah is starting her eighth year as a Red Cross volunteer with the Emergency Response Team and her third year with Civil Air Search and Rescue (CASARA).  She has been deployed to Manitoba as a Logistics and Human Resources Supervisor during the recent floods with the Red Cross and was the PEI representative at the SARTech Training Camp at Jarvis Lake, Alberta, during CASARA’s 20th Anniversary training week.

Sarah believes strongly in the decentralization of food production, which means supporting local farmers.  This improves the quality of food we receive, decreases transportation time and benefits our local economy.  Working with farmers to ensure that their food is top quality is an important long-term goal.

As the rates of cancer and obesity increase across the Island and throughout Canada, Sarah believes that a long-term approach is necessary to ensure that each Islander is able to maintain healthy lifestyle.  Putting a stronger emphasis on physical activity and healthy eating habits are an integral part of decreasing disease while maintaining a strong overall economy.