MEET SARAH

SARAH ZEPHIER

OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE

university of WASHINGTON SCHOOL of Law

Class of 2025

Sarah Zephier (she/her) is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a third-year law student at the University of Washington School of Law. During her first year of law school, she worked for Heart of America, a nonprofit that represented the Yakama Nation in their battle to clean up nuclear waste. In her second year, Sarah worked for Cascadia Law Group, PLLC, a Pacific Northwest Environmental Law firm. Beginning in January 2025, she will be a judicial extern for Washington State Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis. She hopes to continue her work in environmental and tribal law upon graduation.

From 2023-24, Sarah served as co-president of UW’s local NALSA chapter. She focused her leadership efforts on getting financial support for her Native law community. As co-president, she was able to establish travel grants for Native law students to attend the annual Federal Bar Association Indian Conference, textbook grants to ease the cost of their studies, and an emergency fund for students who might need urgent financial assistance. 

Prior to law school, Sarah worked for the National Park Service at three different parks: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Barataria Preserve. No matter the park, she centered her work around equal access with an awareness of factors that limit visitation, like economic, racial, and physical ability. In 2019, she received a B.A. in American Studies (Honors) and a B.A. Global Health & Environment in Western Europe from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.