Sarah Richards has taught science at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, NY since 1987. During her tenure there, Sarah has taught General Science, Earth Science, Anatomy and Physiology, Oceanography, Marine Biology, and Meteorology. She has also served as Chair and Associate Chair of the Science Department. Sarah is always looking for new and fun ways to engage students in science. She started a two-week Summer Science Camp for middle schoolers at Saint Ann’s in 2002, and has coached a team for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl every year since 2000. In 2014, the Saint Ann’s team won New York’s “Bay Scallop Bowl,” and represented the region at the NOSB National Competition in Seattle. 

Sarah believes in the importance of experiential learning, and has designed and led many field trips for her students. From 1989-2001, she took her high school students on a week-long trip each spring to the Hofstra University Marine Lab in Jamaica, and since 2002, she’s been leading comparable trips to the Florida Everglades and Newfound Harbor Marine Institute on Big Pine Key. Sarah was selected to participate in the Sea Experience for Teachers sponsored by the Sea Education Association in 1991, and the Down Under, Out Yonder program sponsored by the Gulf of Mexico Foundation in 2009. Last summer, she was among nineteen teachers from around the country chosen to participate in Project Atmosphere, a 2-week program in weather education held in Kansas City, MO and sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and the National Science Foundation.

Sarah received her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1985, and her M.S. in Science Education from Oregon State University in 1996. Sarah has been an active member of the New York State Marine Education Association since 1993, and currently serves as NYSMEA’s Treasurer and Annual Conference Coordinator. She was awarded NYSMEA’s Kinghan Service Award in 2004, the SCONYC (Science Council of New York City)’s Science Education Award in 2005, and the Dowling College NSF Noyce Symposium Outstanding Teacher Award in 2012. In 2006, Sarah served as co-chair of the annual National Marine Educators Association Conference, which was held in Brooklyn, and was elected to the NMEA Board of Directors in 2008. She currently serves as NMEA's Secretary and chair of the History Committee, and was awarded the Johnette D. Bosarge Award in 2014. In her spare time, Sarah is the principal second violinist of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, and SCUBA diving. Sarah recently did 13 dives (including the Blue Hole) in five days on a trip to Belize.