Sara McKinstry

Sara McKinstry Campus Sustainability Manager Profile Sara J. McKinstry has been the Campus Sustainability Manager for the UC San Diego Vice Chancellor for Resource Management and Planning since September 2014. In this role she: Serves as the leader and manager of UC San Diego's sustainability efforts to foster a culture of sustainability among students, faculty and staff. Identifies and prioritizes areas for institutional sustainability efforts. Plans and develops short and long range plans and engages other campus leaders to foster sustainability broadly across campus units. Establishes UC San Diego as a leader in the field of sustainability at the state, regional, national and international level by promoting broader awareness of UC San Diego’s environmental successes and accomplishments. Effectively works with all elements of the campus community to communicate and further the goals and initiatives of the campus sustainability program. Fosters partnerships between academics, research and operational departments to further campus sustainability goals. Establishes and maintains an effective communication strategy, developing and coordinating education and outreach programs in support of UC San Diego’s sustainability, energy management, and resource conservation programs. Provides expertise and advice in the reduction of UC San Diego's resources and consumption. Develops, implements and evaluates comprehensive sustainability programs. Supervises pilot projects to expand sustainability on campus. Monitors compliance with UC sustainability policies and serves as a liaison to UC Office of the President to ensure campus compliance with annual reporting and other sustainability policies. Attends and supports the UC San Diego Advisory Committee on Sustainability (ACS) meetings and represents UC San Diego’s sustainability programs to the public by attending professional meetings and interfacing with external organizations. Utilizes campus expertise, peer institution best practices, sustainability literature and conferences. Sara is UC San Diego's STARS and Second Nature Carbon Commitment liaison. Before coming to UC San Diego, Sara was the associate director of the University of New Hampshire’s Sustainability Institute, the oldest endowed sustainability program in U.S. higher education, and has prior sustainability and communications work experience with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and Smithsonian Institution. She earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University, a Master’s degree in Education from the University of New Hampshire, and a Bachelor’s degree in English from Dartmouth College.