Sarah is a PhD student in George Mason University’s environmental science and public policy program and Dr. Lucy Keith-Diagne serves on her academic committee. Her dissertation research focuses on testing new technologies including aerial and underwater drones and side-scanning sonar in marine and freshwater manatee habitats in Senegal and Nigeria, as well as mapping threats to the African manatee in Nigeria using a free software, which will be designed with input from Nigerian manatee researchers. This research will help to determine areas where human impacts to manatees are the greatest, facilitate conservation efforts such as protected areas, and promote a new management technique.