Sara Kelemen has been awarded the “2020 Outstanding Student Contribution to Sustainability Research” by the George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. In 2020, Sara worked with the Mitchell Center to advise the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future on equity outcomes of the Maine Climate Action Plan. With her collaborators, Ms. Kelemen reviewed efforts undertaken in other states and municipalities, and applied these lessons to recommendations submitted to the Maine Climate Council. Her work detailed how vulnerable communities bear a disproportionate burden because of climate change, and how State programs should be adjusted to be more inclusive. Sara and her collaborators presented the final report to multiple audiences, including the Maine Climate Council, and as part of the fall Mitchell Center Sustainability Solutions series.
Additionally, Sara is conducting research on two innovative sustainability topics: (1) corporate education programs’ influence on regenerative agriculture practices in the U.S. Southern Plains, and (2) novel payment for ecosystem service marketplaces change agricultural/rangeland practices across the United States. Through these projects, she has demonstrated her considerable capacity to work across stakeholder groups in pursuit of sustainability solutions.
Photo by A. Kuykendall for the Mitchell Center