Sarah Murray became a project manager at the Eppley Institute in November 2018.  Her previous work focused on international development, and she has Bachelors of Arts degrees from Western Michigan University in French and Global and International Studies. Previous to joining Eppley, Sarah was the Associate Director of Indiana University’s Office of International Development, where she facilitated short-term exchange programs focused on leadership development and worked on building networks and cultural exchange through people-to-people relations.

Sarah also has a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Michigan State University, and has experience working in community and economic development, providing technical expertise to municipalities, and securing funding from state and federal agencies for infrastructure and community development initiatives. During her master’s program, Sarah engaged in research on land pressures from population mobility and climate change, and their impacts on food systems in developing countries, specifically in East Africa. After graduate school, she worked on grant-writing projects related to international development, finance, and renewable energy access in Tanzania and Brazil. She also taught as a lecturer at the University of Michigan-Flint. Having lived and worked in a variety of communities around the world, Sarah is passionate about access to public spaces and improving well-being by focusing on the intersection of the environment, public health, and economic development within communities.