As Deputy Vice President for Conservation, Sara Barth manages the 10 regional offices of The Wilderness Society including Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, California/Nevada, Central Rockies, Idaho, Northern Rockies, Utah, New Mexico, Northeast, and Southeast, as well as the Wilderness Support Center. Sara is responsible for the overall strategic planning, management and development goals for each of these offices.

Most recently, Sara served as Associate Vice President for Western Regional Conservation, in which she oversaw the regional offices in the western United States.

Sara first joined The Wilderness Society as Regional Director of the California/Nevada office, a position she held for 5 years. While in this role, the regional office was instrumental in achieving protection for over a hundred thousand acres of pristine wildlands along California’s spectacular north coast. She oversaw the expansion of the California office from 4 people to more than a dozen staff members, broadening the region’s expertise to include forest restoration and stewardship, fire, and climate change and establishing a presence in Southern California. She expanded the region’s science staff by bringing in experts in ecology and spatial analysis. During Sara’s tenure, the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Management Act was passed, protecting 750,000 acres in California - from the Sierra Nevada to the desert — as wilderness.

Prior to joining TWS, Sara was an environmental advisor to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer in Washington, D.C. working on a broad range of federal legislation for federal public lands, wilderness, offshore oil and gas drilling, and ocean protection. Her other professional experience includes posts at the National Wildlife Federation and the World Wildlife Fund.

Sara earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment.