Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
Fall 10-11-2024
Bio
Dr. Sara Goeking ’92
Sara is the National Program Manager for the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program, which provides the nation’s benchmark data for major forest research and management decisions. As the first woman to fill this leadership role, Sara strives to build inclusive teams that cross disciplines to fill gaps in our knowledge of forests. She has mentored early career forest scientists around the globe through the U.S.-sponsored Women in Forest Carbon Initiative to improve gender equity in forest and climate science. She has also conducted capacity development in Asia, Africa, and South America to help countries address the forest carbon component of international climate agreements.
Sara completed a B.S. in Environmental Sciences in 1996, an M.S. in Forest Ecology in 2003, and a Ph.D. in Watershed Sciences in 2022. Her research has leveraged large datasets from field-based studies, remote sensing, hydrology, and climate science to understand how forests respond to climate and subsequently affect our environment. The dramatic effects of climate change on forests worldwide convinced her that sound forest management decisions require robust forest monitoring data. Her work helped justify the decision to list whitebark pine as a threatened species and led to current efforts to identify climate-resilient restoration sites. Sara’s dissertation research questioned a longstanding assumption that forest disturbances result in increased water supply, unexpectedly finding that disturbances in arid watersheds reduce water supply.
Sara is motivated by awe in the natural world. She believes in the power of data to translate stories into useful expectations, and she is filled with gratitude for the love of learning instilled by the IMSA community.
Recommended Citation
Goeking ’92, Dr. Sara, "Recipient of the 2024 Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award" (2024). Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award. 30.
https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/alumni_leadership/30