Sam received her Bachelor’s in Neuroscience from Muhlenberg College and her M.S. in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy from the University of Minnesota. Between undergrad and grad school, she spent a year volunteering around Australia and three growing seasons working on small-scale vegetable and flower farms in the Northeast (in NY, ME, and PA). During grad school, Sam especially enjoyed learning about environmental justice, community monitoring of air quality, and ways to increase public participation in environmental and energy-related decisions. This year, Sam is working as a researcher on two projects: Green Ammonia/Hydrogen (Minnesota) and Just Energy Transitions (Louisiana). In her free time, Sam enjoys playing with her cats, spending time with family, baking, gardening (especially growing flowers and tomatoes), and exploring the natural areas and small towns of upstate New York.
What is your favorite thing about your research?
I enjoy the variety of tasks involved (reading, interviewing, analyzing data) and getting to talk to and learn from people doing really cool work.
What is a surprising fact about yourself?
I really like spending time around horses, so I spent a summer in college working on a dude ranch in Colorado and seven weeks in Tuscany on a horse farm.
What is your favorite season?
I think late spring and early fall have optimal temperatures for spending a lot of time outside. But I appreciate the variation and ritual that comes with the change in seasons every year.