Sarah Hewitt

Sarah joined the Audubon Upper Mississippi River team in September 2023 as the Senior Conservation Manager. Her responsibilities include supporting and expanding the region’s bird habitat conservation efforts with concentration on the Audubon Conservation Ranching program throughout MN, IA, and MO, partnership development, and grant management. Most of Sarah’s professional career has been spent with Audubon, with previous positions at Audubon Great Plains as Director of Conservation and Conservation Program Manager. During her 8 years with the Great Plains team, Sarah was instrumental in the strategic development, fundraising, and implementation of multiple conservation programs focused on working alongside private producers and urban municipalities across North and South Dakota. Before joining Audubon, Sarah spent time with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a biological technician at the Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District where she conducted tallgrass prairie vegetation monitoring, avian surveys, and joined the fire management team.

Sarah attended the University of Minnesota Morris and earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Environmental Studies, then went on to earn a Masters of Natural Resources Management at North Dakota State University. During this time, Sarah gained extensive experience in prairie restoration techniques, prescribed fire science, invasive species phenology and control, in addition to agricultural entomology with a focus on natural predators of soybean aphids.

Today, Sarah lives in Sartell, MN with her husband and two young sons. She enjoys spending time with her family, playing with their chocolate lab, Leopold, and cat, Jasper. Sarah loves to garden, read, and stay active. Her favorite grassland bird is the Bobolink.