Sari Blakeley is a Ph.D. student in Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, studying how long term climate variability in West Africa affects farmer risk management. Her work includes improving food security, exploring new methodologies for measuring climate shocks, and utilizing remote sensing in developing risk management strategies. Her main area of focus is West Africa, but she has worked in East Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean, and South America. Previously, at the International Research Center for Climate and Society, Sari worked with a variety of non-governmental organizations, local governments, and research institutes to develop strategies to manage extreme weather events through analysis of worst rainfall years on record, assessment of vulnerable part of the cropping season, and educational tutorials for risk management.  She graduated from Michigan State University in 2010 with a B.S. in International Studies, Economics, and French and earned a master’s degree in Climate and Society in 2012 from Columbia University.