Susan Stratton Sayre is an assistant professor in the Economics Department at Smith College and is affiliated with the college's Environmental Science and Policy Program. She earned a BA in Economics and Religion from Swarthmore College and MS and PhD degrees in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research addresses how political and economic forces influence the development of environmental and resource policy, with a particular focus on water policy. She is especially interested in groundwater policy. Recent projects look at water policy in both water-scarce areas, including California and Spain, and relatively water-rich areas like the Northeastern United States.