Sara Townsend (Santa Clara)

While attending California’s Santa Clara University School of Law, Sara Townsend has taken advantage of her summer breaks to gain valuable professional experience. During the summer of 2015, she served as a law clerk with the Oceans Program of the Center for Biological Diversity Program in Oakland, California, where she authored formal comment letters to various state and federal agencies, drafted objective memos vis-a-vis potential causes of legal action, and researched legislative history to support a motion for summary judgment. In 2016, she took on a role as a summer intellectual property litigation associate with the Redwood City offices of Fish & Richardson.

Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at Santa Clara University School of Law, Sara Townsend previously employed her master in arts in marine affairs and policy and her duel bachelor’s degrees in ecology/evolution and environmental studies as a research partner with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program and as a senior policy analyst with the California Coastal Protection Network. She is also the founder of Lajas Loves, an organization that provides medical services to animals in need.