Sarah Whitmee is a visiting postdoctoral researcher at University College London where she works on a range of topics including trade-offs in ecosystem services, the effectiveness of protected areas and the impacts of climate change on species distributions. She is also a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and is part of the WCPA/SSC IUCN Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas, an international collaboration on protected area management effectiveness. Previously Sarah worked as a researcher on the WWF Living Planet Index with the Institute of Zoology-ZSL, charting global trends in vertebrate species abundance in marine, terrestrial and freshwater systems. She has also worked on initiatives for the UK government looking at international challenges and opportunities of climate change mitigation and adaptation and has worked in the not-for-profit sector for the Earthwatch Institute and the Environment Council, advising multinational corporations on corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagement. Dr. Whitmee completed her Ph.D. at Imperial College London. Her dissertation focused on quantifying the impact of climate change on mammal species. She also has a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BSc in Zoology from Sheffield University. Since May 2014, Sarah has been seconded to The Rockefeller-Lancet Commission on planetary health where she has served as a lead author and member of the secretariat.