Sara Chieffo

Government Relations Associate

Areas of Expertise: Global warming; Farm Bill and its conservation programs; biofuels.

Sara is a member of the Government Relations team where she currently focuses on enacting federal legislation to address the causes and effects of global warming, with a specific focus on securing the resources necessary to help wildlife and its habitat adapt to and survive the unavoidable impacts of global warming. Sara also worked closely on the 2008 Farm Bill and continues to track funding for farm bill conservation programs, in addition to legislation related to biofuels.

Before joining Defenders of Wildlife in January, 2007, Sara served as Director of Resources for the McKenzie River Trust, a land trust based in Oregon. She also served as Chief of Staff for an Oregon state senator where her legislative portfolio focused on natural resources issues. Sara has also been active in local and national political campaigns and served as a steering committee member for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. Sara started her advocacy career working for CALPIRG.

Sara holds a BA in American Studies from Georgetown University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Sara is also a graduate of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs.

Contact Information
Phone: (202) 772-0270
Email: sara.chieffo@defenders.org