Associate professor of regional economics and holds the Fred V. Heinkel Chair in Agriculture in the Division of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Missouri. She also directs MU Extension’s  Regional Economic and Entrepreneurial Development program. Her research focuses on rural entrepreneurship and innovation, food manufacturing establishment dynamics, the relationship between financial capital availability and rural firm survival, and the impact of broadband access on rural economic development. Sarah spent 10 years at USDA’s Economic Research Service in Washington, D.C. She holds a PhD in agricultural and consumer economics.