Sarah Thoutenhoofd is from Calgary, Alberta and completed her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, majoring in Philosophy with an International Studies minor.

During her undergraduate degree, Sarah participated in the University of Alberta’s co-operative program and attained a student position with the federal government in the Department of Public Safety. Sarah continued working for Public Safety Canada full-time post-graduation, working across Canada in Ottawa, Edmonton, and Calgary. Sarah’s work with Public Safety Canada supported the department’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, where she researched employment equity and systemic barriers facing employees in the federal public service. To compliment this experience, Sarah is involved in the Disabilities Graduate Fellowship group, where she investigates Canada’s foreign policy related to disability, accessibility, and inclusion.

While at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Sarah’s research interests include global climate governance, transnational sustainability transformations, and local to national climate change policies. Under the supervision of Dr. Sarah Burch, Sarah’s research focuses on the facilitation of environmental sustainability through the interconnection of bottom-up local private sector sustainability capacity and top-down approaches of the Canadian Government. Working with TRANSFORM cities, Sarah’s research seeks to analyze the sustainability approaches of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Sarah is driven by her desire to connect effective governance with sustainable, local-level transformations. Sarah hopes to broaden her knowledge of federal and municipal governments’ interactions with non-state actors and international treaties. The core of Sarah’s studies is to empower governments to make collaborative connections to promote the sustainability and well-being for citizens worldwide.