Sara began her career with University of Illinois Extension in 2014 after spending eight years working in administrative positions at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Illinois University.

Originally from Charleston, Sara got her start in Extension in 1989 as a 4-H club member in Coles County where she discovered her love of baking and showing her horse, Hawk. She attended Illinois State University where she earned a B.A. in Marketing, followed by earning an MBA at Eastern Illinois University.