Sarah Backstrand
Policy research, advocacy, and grant development for organizations working on natural resource governance, critical minerals, and the energy transition.
About
The clean energy transition depends on minerals like cobalt, copper, and lithium, but the people who mine them are too often left out of the conversations that shape their lives.
I'm a researcher and fundraiser focused on resource governance and artisanal and small-scale mining. For my master’s at the University of Michigan, I led the thematic analysis of interviews with artisanal cobalt and copper miners in Kolwezi, DRC, working with Dr. Brandon Finn and fieldwork researcher Espérant Mwishamali Lukobo, examining what those miners told us about labor, displacement, and legitimacy in the supply chains that run through their communities. That research is published in Energy Research & Social Science. I've also worked on formalization policy for gold mining in the Amazon Basin with the U.S. State Department, critical-minerals policy briefs with the National Wildlife Federation, and an international ASM research synthesis convened through the University of Notre Dame. This is a project I've now joined formally as a research assistant with Prof. Arun Agrawal at Notre Dame's Pulte Institute for Global Development.
Before graduate school, I spent over four years at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) in New York and London. I coordinated proposals that helped secure more than $2.1 million from climate and governance foundations, funding energy-transition and anti-corruption programs across 19 countries. I also chaired NRGI's global DEI Action Group. In 2026, I returned to NRGI as a consultant supporting the fundraising team.
I care about this work because good governance is what decides whether the energy transition is just or simply extractive by another name. I'm currently open to consultancy, fundraising, research, and advocacy work.
I split my time between the US and the UK.
Grant writing and proposals
I write proposals, concept notes, and reports for funders. At NRGI I spent four years coordinating proposals to climate and governance foundations, which together raised over $2.1 million for programs in 19 countries.
Research on artisanal mining and critical minerals
Policy analysis, literature reviews, comparative regulatory research, and qualitative work on artisanal and small-scale mining and critical mineral supply chains. I led the thematic analysis for our paper on artisanal cobalt mining in Kolwezi, published in Energy Research & Social Science, and co-authored a set of briefs for the National Wildlife Federation comparing U.S. mining regulation to IRMA standards.
Donor research and landscape scoping
If your team is trying to understand who funds your issue area, I can map which funders are active, what they've supported recently, and where your work might fit.
I'm currently a research assistant at Notre Dame's Pulte Institute for Global Development and a fundraising consultant with NRGI, and I'm open to additional consultancy, research, and advocacy work.
Portfolio
2026 · BLOG
What I learned during my year as a Tandana Board Fellow
Reflections on nonprofit governance, individual-donor fundraising, and relationship-first development, from a year on the Board of Trustees.
The Tandana Foundation
2026 · PAPER
Transformative Cohabitation: Rethinking Artisanal Mining Governance in the DRC
Co-authored with Dr. Brandon Finn and Espérant Mwishamali Lukobo, who conducted the fieldwork interviews in Haut-Katanga and Lualaba, DRC. I led the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts.
Energy Research & Social Science
2026 · POLICY
Critical Minerals Policy Toolkit
Critical Mineral Mining on Private Lands: Biodiversity and Land Use
Critical Mineral Mining on Private Lands: Cultural Heritage and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent
Critical Mineral Mining on Private Lands: Environmental Impact Assessments
Critical Mineral Mining on Private Lands: Labor Rights and Working Conditions
Critical Mineral Mining on Private Lands: Water Pollution Control and Waste Management
Co-authored policy briefs comparing U.S. mining regulations to IRMA international standards.
National Wildlife Federation
2025 · RESEARCH
Illegal Gold Mining Formalization in the Amazon Basin
Policy and financial analysis for the State Department Diplomacy Lab, reframing formalization as a financial inclusion challenge.
U.S. Department of State
2023 · BLOG
The Journey Continues: Progress and Learning on DEI at NRGI
Co-authored with CEO Suneeta Kaimal.
Natural Resource Governance Institute
2022 · BLOG
From the Inside Out: Stepping Up on DEI
Reflecting on NRGI's first year of internal DEI work.
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Experience
2026
Fundraising Consultant
Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)
Working with Prof. Arun Agrawal on a global synthesis of research on artisanal and small-scale mining, including a cross-country ASM database and a coordinated special issue (August–November 2026).
2026
Research Assistant
Pulte Institute for Global Development, University of Notre Dame
Supporting NRGI's fundraising team with proposal development, donor research and reporting, and the rollout of a new CRM (July–December 2026).
2025 - 2026
National Wildlife Federation
Co-authored a policy toolkit comparing U.S. critical mineral mining regulations to international best practices.
2025 - 2026
U.S. Department of State
Analyzed gold mining formalization policy across the Amazon Basin.
2025 - 2026
Golub Capital Nonprofit Board Fellow
Served as a nonvoting trustee through Michigan Ross Business+Impact. Supported prospect research with the Development Committee and student outreach across three U-M schools.
2025
Center for Global Health Equity, University of Michigan
Analyzed interviews with artisanal miners in Kolwezi, DRC. Co-authored a paper on "transformative cohabitation."
2021 - 2024
Fundraising Associate & DEI Chair
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Led grant processes for climate foundations across 19 countries. Chaired the global DEI Action Group.
2019 - 2021
Program & Admin Assistant
NRGI
Supported senior management and board operations. Founded the Ways of Working Committee.
2017 - 2019
Research Assistant & Consultant
Bioversity International
Research on climate change and food security in Uganda, Malaysia, and Italy.
Education
MS Environmental Policy
University of Michigan · 2026
Thesis on price manipulation in artisanal cobalt mining. Coursework in environmental economics, energy markets, qualitative methods.
Dow Fellow · CEW+ Towsley Scholar · Bierbaum Award · Cain Award
BA Environmental Policy
Colby College · 2018 · Minor in Anthropology
Cole Research Fellowship studying climate change effects on smallholder farmers in Uganda. Semester in France.
Cole Research Fellow
Speaking
The Sidebar at UN General Assembly & New York Climate Week 2026
Mines, Miners and the Energy Transition: Who pays the price for critical minerals?
Discussion leader, with Mario Picon (Governance Action Hub) and Kevin Melton (Pax Strategies). The session asked what responsible sourcing means on the ground when a supply chain begins with informal labour. I spoke from the miners' side, drawing on our interviews in Kolwezi: what artisanal miners asked for, what the frameworks miss, and why the price of the energy transition gets set at a buying-house scale that no audit reaches.
The Green Economy Cannot Reproduce the Old One: It Must Work for Everyone
Discussion leader, with Joshua Kaluwasha (Embassy of Zambia) and Mario Picon (Governance Action Hub). A cross-sector conversation on whether the green economy can avoid repeating the extractive logic of the one it replaces. My part was the mining and community end: what accountability looks like when it reaches the artisanal miner rather than stopping at the company.
The Environmental Justice Lab Podcast
The Green Transition Has a Cost: Environmental Justice Crisis in the Congo
Guest, alongside Fr. Dr. Toussaint Kafarhire, hosted by Dr. Lesley Joseph. A conversation about the DRC's long history of extraction, from rubber and uranium to cobalt, and about listening to artisanal miners and affected communities as experts in their own lives. The episode draws on our paper in Energy Research and Social Science.
Media Mentions
Michigan Daily
“I think that we absolutely need to decarbonize quickly,” Backstrand said. “It’s urgent. There’s no question about that. But it cannot be at the expense of vulnerable communities, especially in regions that have been colonized and have been subject to colonial systems and the harms associated with resource extraction for centuries.”
World Bank lead mining specialist Boubacar Bocoum discusses the geopolitics of critical mining
“Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is very stigmatized, and there’s a one-size-fits-all solution that’s put forth to formalize that sector. And while there are a lot of issues associated with ASM, resource wealth tends to circulate more within the community of ASM (compared to large-scale mining). So while resource wealth from big mining companies tends to be concentrated in the hands of the elite, for ASM, more wealth is circulated within communities.” -Backstrand
CONTACT
Working together
I'm available for the consulting work described above. Get in touch and we can figure out whether it's a fit.
Roles
I'm also looking for policy, research, and advocacy positions in natural resource governance and critical minerals, with grant development and programmatic fundraising as a lane I know well. I'm a US citizen eligible for the UK High Potential Individual visa and I'm relocating to London in October 2026.
EMAIL: sbacks@sarahbackstrand.com
LINKEDIN: linkedin.com/in/sarah-backstrand
SUBSTACK: sarahbackstrand.substack.com