Melanie Sands

Melanie Sands, an Eastern Research Group (ERG) senior social scientist and project manager, has over 15 years of experience providing economic, public health, and resilience expertise to clients and stakeholders at local, tribal, state, and federal levels. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with a range of clients, including those at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institute for Standards and Technology, Food and Drug Administration, and the State of Vermont. She specializes in program and process evaluations, economic valuation studies, policy development and analysis, survey development and implementation, and facilitation of stakeholder meetings and interviews.

Prior to her work with ERG, Sands was a community organizer with the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, where her primary role was to engage a variety of community, tribal, state, and federal stakeholders on conservation and subsistence issues throughout the Tongass National Forest. She also previously served as Coordinator for an Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Pilot project that evaluated mine-scarred land in seven West Virginia communities for potential revitalization.

Sands holds a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from Bethany College and a Master of Arts in environmental science and policy from Clark University. Outside work, she is an avid trail runner and an active member of the Vermont Medical Reserve Corps