Author Profile
Sarah Wolfe | Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University
Current Position and Past Experience
Sarah Wolfe is a professor for the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. She leads the Society, Environment and Emotions Lab (SEELab), where her research explores how emotions, beliefs, and values shape environmental decision-making, particularly in the areas of water and climate governance. Supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), her interdisciplinary research examines how people make decisions outside formal institutions and identifies interventions that better align with how individuals think, feel, and act.
Dr. Wolfe has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals, including WIREs Climate Change, Water International, Ecology and Society, People and Nature, and Frontiers in Marine Science. She is recognized for conducting some of the earliest research applying Terror Management Theory to environmental communication, examining how mortality reminders influence water-use behaviors, climate change responses, and environmental risk perception.
In addition to her academic research, Dr. Wolfe is an active public scholar whose writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail and The Conversation. Her work brings evidence-based perspectives on environmental policy, sustainability, and the role of emotions in public decision-making to broader audiences.
Before joining Royal Roads University, Dr. Wolfe served as an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. Earlier in her career, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Waterloo, where she further developed her expertise in environmental governance and interdisciplinary sustainability research.
Education, Honors, and Achievements
Dr. Wolfe earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geography from the University of Guelph and a master's degree through the Collaborative Program in Political Science and Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Development and Geography and studied at the University of Haifa.
Committed to mentoring future sustainability leaders, Dr. Wolfe has supervised more than 40 graduate and undergraduate theses. In recognition of her excellence in graduate teaching and student supervision, she received Royal Roads University's Kelly New Teacher Award. Through her research, teaching, mentorship, and public engagement, she continues to advance more inclusive, collaborative, and emotionally informed approaches to environmental sustainability.
Sarah Wolfe is a professor for the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. She leads the Society, Environment and Emotions Lab (SEELab), where her research explores how emotions, beliefs, and values shape environmental decision-making, particularly in the areas of water and climate governance. Supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), her interdisciplinary research examines how people make decisions outside formal institutions and identifies interventions that better align with how individuals think, feel, and act.
Dr. Wolfe has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals, including WIREs Climate Change, Water International, Ecology and Society, People and Nature, and Frontiers in Marine Science. She is recognized for conducting some of the earliest research applying Terror Management Theory to environmental communication, examining how mortality reminders influence water-use behaviors, climate change responses, and environmental risk perception.
In addition to her academic research, Dr. Wolfe is an active public scholar whose writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail and The Conversation. Her work brings evidence-based perspectives on environmental policy, sustainability, and the role of emotions in public decision-making to broader audiences.
Before joining Royal Roads University, Dr. Wolfe served as an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. Earlier in her career, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Waterloo, where she further developed her expertise in environmental governance and interdisciplinary sustainability research.
Education, Honors, and Achievements
Dr. Wolfe earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geography from the University of Guelph and a master's degree through the Collaborative Program in Political Science and Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Development and Geography and studied at the University of Haifa.
Committed to mentoring future sustainability leaders, Dr. Wolfe has supervised more than 40 graduate and undergraduate theses. In recognition of her excellence in graduate teaching and student supervision, she received Royal Roads University's Kelly New Teacher Award. Through her research, teaching, mentorship, and public engagement, she continues to advance more inclusive, collaborative, and emotionally informed approaches to environmental sustainability.
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