Sara Perl Egendorf
[aka Perl]
MA, MS, PhD
[they/them or she/her]
Perl was born and raised on unceded Lenape land, where they continue to live and learn from soils and people who work with them.
Perl is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Science at Pace University who uses systems approaches to study urban soils and their intersections with food-, environmental- and climate-justice.
Perl’s MS (2016) and PhD (2020) research at CUNY developed a multi-scalar systems approach for limiting exposure to lead in soil, particularly by conducting pilot studies of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation’s Clean Soil Bank, which is now the only free clean soil distribution system in the US.
As a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability (2020-2022), Perl used a range of biogeochemical and participatory action research methods to study bacterial and fungal communities in newly constructed soils.
Perl was a researcher with the NY Department of Sanitation and the NYC Compost Project Hosted by Earth Matter (2021-2023), co-creating research with urban growers city-wide on the use of small-scale composts for growing crops.
In collaboration with many experts outside of academia, Perl’s aim as a scientist is to use the tools and resources of science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) to support the vital efforts of urban growers and contribute to various scales of environmental justice.
Interests:
earth systems science, urban soil science, urban agriculture, compost science, food justice, environmental justice, climate justice, critical geography, queer theory, participatory action research, anti-colonial research, critical pedagogy, art/science collaboration
