Sara Gonzalez-Rothi
Biography
During her time working in the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Professor Gonzalez-Rothi had several impressive accomplishments. She established and co-led the Ocean Policy Committee, which was co-chaired by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Under this leadership, the Ocean Policy Committee developed the first ever United States , , and . She also helped establish and run the first ever Interagency Policy Committee on Poly- and Per-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Additionally, she created the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge Initiative, launching the Wetland and Water Resource Protection Guide, and hosting the White House Freshwater Summit. Notably, she also helped to forge two historic agreements to pause longstanding litigation against the federal government by Tribal Nations, states, and environmental organizations regarding the degradation of salmon and other native fish in the Columbia River Basin. While working in the United States Senate, she played a large role in negotiating and successfully shepherding the RESTORE Act through Senate passage with overwhelming bipartisan support and ultimately to a final enactment.
Professor Gonzalez-Rothi is a frequently sought after independent consultant and has conducted legal and policy research and writing, briefed congressional staff, provided strategic counsel, served as a guest lecturer, and more on high-impact environmental and science policy matters. Her research interests and scholarship include climate change, water law, pragmatic environmentalism, and more. Her most recent publication includes Cultivating Fair Winds and a Following Sea: Considerations for Offshore Wind Proponents in New York, published in The New York Environmental Lawyer.
Education
- BA, University of Florida
- JD, University of Miami School of Law
Professional Contributions and Service
Professor Gonzalez-Rothi is a Board Member with the Coastal States Stewardship Foundation and previously served as an Advisory Board Member with the Women’s Aquatic Network and an Appointed Member with the Maryland State Parks Advisory Commission.