Sarah Mills

Senior project manager and lecturer at the University of Michigan, Sarah Mills will participate in the Science and Research Workshop of Summit Session 5 on November 20, at 10am central time.

Sarah Mills is a senior project manager and lecturer at the University of Michigan, splitting her time between the Graham Sustainability Institute and the Ford School of Public Policy.  Within Graham, she leads the Graham Energy Futures Initiative and a grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to help communities across the state consider clean energy in their land use planning, zoning, and other policymaking. At the Ford School, she teaches and conducts research at the intersection of energy policy and land use planning–especially in rural communities.  Her research has included how renewable energy development impacts rural communities (positively and negatively), the disparate reactions of rural landowners to wind and solar projects, and how state and local policies facilitate or hinder renewable energy deployment. 

She has a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, a master’s in engineering for sustainable development from the University of Cambridge, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Villanova University. 

She grew up in rural Maybee, Michigan, and now lives in Ann Arbor where she chairs the City Planning Commission.