Projects
SDG Course Tool
A Shiny App that analyses text from course descriptions to highlight courses that align with the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Climate Justice Now!
An app for sharing resources, policy platforms, and recommended actions for advancing work on climate justice issues.
Investigating Deforestation in Peru
An exploratory spatial analysis of deforestation and public finance in Peru.
Empirical Analysis of Oil Revenue Windfalls and Deforestation
In this paper I employ a difference-in-differences approach to examine the effect of oil revenue windfalls on deforestation and social welfare.
Journal Article for GEC
In this paper, Dr. Ashwin Ravikumar and I investigate the political economy of conservation programs in the Peruvian Amazon. Under review in Global Environmental Change.
Geospatial Analysis of Affordable Housing in Western MA
Analyzed the clustering dynamics of affordable housing units in Western Massachusetts using ArcGIS Pro. View my project poster here.
Survey Analysis for Boston's BHA Transportation Action Plan
Analyzed survey data using R and ArcGIS to identify trends in bus ridership and community sentiment toward transit infrastructure in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.
geoMap Python Package
The geoMap python package allows users to visualize the seismic risk profiles of countries and territories around the world. The mapping tool combines geological and social risk factors to wholistically model global earthquake vulnerability. View example visualizations here.
Campus Sustainability Survey
An analysis of over 900 responses to Amherst's Campus Sustainability Survey, a Qualtrics survey that I designed and helped administer.
NY Public Transit Analysis
1. A data visualization showing the impact of the New York MTA's Free Fares Pilot Program.
2. A map of transit equity scores by census block groups.
Sustainability Project Dashboard
A centralized project dashboard that catalogs past and on-going projects to track student and faculty engagement with the Office of Sustainability.
ACC Newsletter
Wrote summer and winter newsletters to fundraise for the housing non-profit, Amherst Community Connections.
NPR Student Podcast Finalist
My podcast was chosen as one of 25 finalists from over 2,000 submissions for the NPR Student Podcast Challenge.
Amherst Food Analysis
WORK IN PROGRESS - A Shiny App that tracks Amherst Dining's purchasing history to guide the development of the college's food procurement policy.
STARS Dashboard
WORK IN PROGRESS - A Shiny App that outlines Amherst's sustainability goals and tracks the college's progress in energy, water, waste, food, procurement, investment, and other sustainability-focused initiatives.
About
Background
Sara Zhu
Amherst, MA
sazhu24(at)amherst.edu
Education
Amherst College
2020 - 2024
Bachelor of Arts, Major in Economics
Amherst, MA
Alameda Community Learning Center
2016 - 2020
Alameda, CA
Courses
Amherst College
ECON 301: Advanced Microeconomics
ECON 330: Macroeconomics
ECON 360: Econometrics
ECON 212: Public Economics: Environment, Health & Inequality
ECON 218: Economics of Inequality in the U.S.
ECON 231: Public Choice
ECON 205: Pluralist Economics
ECON 416: Economics of Race and Gender
ECON 429: Geospatial Analysis for Development Economics
ENST 490: Political Ecology
ENST 314: Climate Justice Now
ENST 300: Green New Deal
ENST 250: U.S. Environmental Policy
ENST 210: Ecology
STAT 135: Introduction to Statistics
STAT 231: Data Science
STAT 240: Multivariate Data Analysis
REGPL 625: Intro to GIS for Planning
STDS 271: Programming for Data Science in Python
ARCH 130: The City: Past & Present
FAMS 221: Foundations in Video Production
PSYC 210: Social Psychology
PSYC 211: Cognitive Pyschology
PSYC 220: Developmental Psychology
CHIN 201: Second Year Chinese I
CHIN 201: Second Year Chinese II
Professional Experience
Climate Change Researcher
Aug 2024 – Present
ICF
- Helps state and local governments develop decarbonization strategies for the building sector using ICF's CO₂Sight platform. Currently working on climate action plans for the states of Virginia, Delaware, and Connecticut, as well as Washington DC, the San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Knoxville TN, and Richmond VA.
- Contributes to EPA's Vintaging Model. Updates model assumptions and functionality in Python.
Data Analytics Fellow
Jun 2022 – May 2024
Amherst College Office of Sustainability
- Supports the implementation of Amherst’s climate and sustainability commitments by collecting and analyzing data on the college’s emissions sources, energy consumption, food system, curriculum, and procurement.
- Conducts Amherst’s greenhouse gas inventory process in accordance with the GHG Protocol.
- Analyzes $4 million in annual food purchasing invoices to guide the development of Amherst’s food procurement policy.
- Prepares reports, dashboards, and presentations to communicate findings to internal and external stakeholders.
Museum Attendent
Sep 2020 - May 2024
Mead Art Museum
- Greets the public and informs visitors about the Museum's exhibitions, programs and events
- Registers guests according to security procedures and maintains a visitor log
- Maintains upkeep of museum lobby and exhibition spaces
Grader
Feb 2023 – Dec 2023
Amherst College Statistics Department
- Graded weekly problem sets for Data Science (STAT 231)
Audience Insights Intern
May 2023 – Aug 2023
Rocky Mountain Institute
- Developed data pipelines to automate the processing and visualization of data extracted from various sources (APIs, data mining).
- Created tools and Power BI dashboards to map networks of influence, focusing on how information reaches key stakeholders in the energy sector.
- Synthesized research and presented findings to audiences with varying levels of technical proficiency. View Internship Evaluation
Data Analyst
May 2023 – July 2023
Livable Streets Alliance
- Analyzed bus rider survey data using R and ArcGIS Pro to identify community sentiment toward transit infrastructure along Blue Hill Avenue, a major bus route serving primarily BIPOC and working-class neighborhoods in Boston.
- Synthesized key results to include in Boston's Blue Hill Ave. Community Engagement Report
Housing & Employment Intern
Jun 2022 – Aug 2022
LifeMoves
- Researched employment trends and developed a survey for residents of Lifemoves’ homeless shelters. Synthesized and presented findings to inform the design of San Jose's new vocational training program.
- Worked with the Director of Housing to improve data quality standards and workflow efficiency for case managers working across eleven shelters.
Marketing Intern
Jun 2021 – Aug 2022
Amherst College Dining
- Managed social media accounts for AC Dining Services
- Designed infographics and social media campaigns to expand messaging around sustainable dining practices.
Caseworker
Jun 2021 – Sep 2021
Amherst Community Connections
- Researched evolving public programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and guided clients through applications for rental assistance, utility relief, SNAP benefits, and affordable housing.
- Designed and administered customized case management plans for 60+ unhoused community members. Held regular check-in meetings and maintained detailed case notes.
- Wrote two quarterly fundraising letters addressed to 1800+ potential donors. View Internship Evaluation
Climate Action Intern
Sep 2017 - Nov 2018
City of Alameda
- Synthesized research on urban forestry plans and congestion pricing proposals considered by different municipalities.
- Produced a video series explaining Alameda’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan.