Staff

Director

Dr. Steinberg is excited to lead the Institute for Sustainability as we engage in interdisciplinary work, create collaborations and offer innovative learning and engagement opportunities. At Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State University) she served as Director of Community Research for the California Center for Rural Policy and most recently as the Director of Institute for Geospatial Education at UMass Global where she also served as Faculty President for four years. Her research interests include sustainability, environmental justice, culture and community engagement, research methods, JEDI, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), ethnicity, social inequality and policy. She developed an interest in these topics through living in nearly every region of the United States and serving as a United State Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala as part of the agroforestry program working with local people and teaching at the Universidad de San Carlos in Spanish.

Dr. Steinberg’s most recent publication is as co-editor of a new volume entitled, Climate, Vulnerability and Health (Springer Press forthcoming 2025) and the edited volume entitled Resilient Communities Across Geographies (Esri Press 2021). Additionally, she has co-authored GIS Research Methods: The Geospatial Advantage (Esri Press 2015) and Extreme Weather, Health and Communities: Interdisciplinary Engagement Strategies (2016). Her research focuses on the connection between people, places and environments considering local knowledge, networks and the power of culture and community engagement to generate policy and action. While the position of Director of the Institute for Sustainability is campus-wide, Dr. Steinberg will call the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies her College home.

Lead Sustainability Specialist

Sarah has worked at the CSUN Institute for Sustainability since its inception in 2009. As the Lead Sustainability Specialist, she works with campus departments and community organizations to implement sustainability initiatives, programs, and events. Sarah helped develop CSUN's Sustainability Plans, first in 2013 and again in 2023. She oversees CSUN's CA Climate Action Corps Program, a workforce development program for new professionals to gain hands-on experience related to sustainable agriculture, social justice, and zero waste.

Sarah is also responsible for educating and engaging students, employees, and the community while reducing the university's environmental impact. She oversees student assistants working on research, outreach, gardening, and event planning and is the advisor for the CSUN Environmental Club.

Sarah is passionate about reducing food waste and insecurity; she has coordinated orange harvests in the CSUN Orange Grove for the last 14 years. Volunteers have harvested over 175 tons of oranges that have been donated to feed the community. In her free time she enjoys reading, going to the beach, hiking, and working in her home pollinator garden.