Sarah Cardona

Sarah joined MPC in September of 2015 and brings her experiences in sustainable development, environmental policy, and stakeholder engagement to advance effective regional environmental planning efforts in stormwater management, climate resilience, and natural asset management like Chicago’s 150+ miles of river. She focuses on innovative solutions, including market-based approaches to urban flooding and regional collaboration in managing stormwater. She facilitates the Calumet Stormwater Collaborative and works in equitable local community engagement and place-based planning efforts with Great Rivers Chicago. As a manager, her work centers around engaging external partners in new and ongoing projects and leading on-the-ground pilot efforts.

A native of Chicago, Sarah moved to Washington, D.C. in 2011 to attend the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where she completed a master’s degree in public policy focusing her research on environmental policy mechanisms under the UNFCCC for national climate mitigation and adaptation actions. While in D.C., she worked for The World Bank in climate-resilient, low-emissions development capacity building and technical assistance for Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Sarah also brings prior work experience in community relations, strategic communications and business development from her former positions at De La Salle Institute and Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in political science and Spanish, and after graduation, lived for three years in Madrid, Spain working in bilingual business development for a regional law firm.

Sarah is a member of the Alliance for a Greener South Loop, the American Planning Association, a Chicago Conservation Corp volunteer, and active with the Greater South Loop Association. She lives in the South Loop with her husband and enjoys traveling, being outdoors, practicing yoga and experimenting with new vegetarian recipes.