Sarah Null
I grew up in Wrightwood, California - a small town in the San Gabriel Mountains. I graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in economics in 1998. After graduating, I moved to the Eastern Sierra Nevada, where I worked as a ski patroller at Mammoth Mountain and as a naturalist at Mono Lake. While at Mono Lake, I developed an interest in California's water use and management. I returned to school for my master's degree, this time at UC Davis, to study water resources. I completed my thesis in 2003, using a computer optimization model to study potential water storage and supply implications of removing Hetch Hetchy Valley's O'Shaughnessy Dam (in Yosemite National Park).
I received a research grant from the US EPA STAR program (Science to Achieve Results), and am currently finishing a PhD in Geography at UC Davis. My doctoral research focuses on modeling river flow and water temperature in California's Shasta River as a means to improve environmental water use efficiency and enhance instream habitat for native salmon species. I work part time as an environmental consultant at Watercourse Engineering, Inc. I currently live in Truckee, California, and enjoy skiing, hiking, climbing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.