Sarah Miller
Tiny Earth Executive Director
University of Wisconsin-Madison
About
Sarah is the Executive Director of Tiny Earth at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, overseeing the international network of 900+ trained Tiny Earth Partner Instructors (TEPIs) who teach an estimated 18,000+ students per year in 33 countries. She serves as principal investigator (PI) on several grants, oversees the Tiny Earth Headquarters staff, coordinates fundraising efforts, and leads strategic direction for the network. During her time at Tiny Earth, she has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, CBE-Life Sciences Education, and Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. She is the lead author on Scientific Teaching, 2nd ed., a faculty guide for teaching science using evidence-based and inclusive practices, along with its companion online Scientific Teaching Course. She regularly leads presentations and workshops about Tiny Earth, scientific teaching, and equity in STEM education and has been the plenary speaker at conferences such as National Association of Biology Teachers and American Society for Microbiology Conference on Undergraduate Education.
Sarah’s professional interests focus on STEM education, with an emphasis on active and inclusive learning, institutional transformation at scale, and faculty development in higher education. In recognition for her contributions to STEM education, Sarah has been named a National Academies Education Mentor in the Life Sciences and received the UW-Madison Teaching Academy Distinguished Teaching Award.
Sarah was trained as a biologist at UW-Madison. During her graduate work in plant pathology, she investigated the environmental impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by analyzing the microbial communities affiliated with plant roots. As an undergraduate majoring in botany, she researched plant ecology and evolution in areas ranging from the top of tropical Venezuelan tepuis (plateaus) to the bottom of Northern Wisconsin lakes.
In the 2000s, Sarah directed the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, teaching multiple graduate courses about scientific teaching and mentoring. From 2012-2014, Sarah built and led the first four cohorts of Madison Teaching and Learning Excellence (MTLE), an intensive year-long program for UW’s early-career faculty.
