Sara Cottingham
Profession:
Community Planner at Downstream Strategies, LLC
Five Words About Me:
Hopelessly organized old soul
One Surprising Skill:
Expert floor installer!
Sara Cottingham is an environmental planner and community development specialist based in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Sara’s passion for rural communities first brought her to the Mountain State in 2012, and she is proud to be a West Virginian by choice. Working for Downstream Strategies, she serves as the company’s lead planner for environmental, community revitalization, and business development projects. She works extensively with clients across the country, ranging from small grassroots groups to regional and national organizations, and offers expertise in grant writing, capacity building, fundraising, and volunteer management. Outside of work, Sara is an accomplished old-time musician and takes occasional commissions for her hand-carved prints and pastel drawings. As an Impact West Virginia Fellow, Sara completed a 12-week volunteer project in 2018 for the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts and enjoys staying involved with the organization. She spends her spare moments in the woods with her dog, Henry.