Professional Independent Recipe Tester/Editor
Palo Alto, California

Sarah Epstein’s passion for cooking began at an early age and eventually led her to the doors of Sunset Magazine where she was a member of the food team for almost 18 years. Her role included assisting the editors in the development of user-friendly, replicable recipes as well as special projects for Sunset Magazine, the Sunset Wine Club, the Sunset Western Wine Awards, and the Sunset International Wine Competition. While there, Sarah built a substantial freelance business as a recipe tester/editor. She works with cookbook authors, magazine writers, product creators, and online content developers and in the process, has logged thousands of hours in her kitchen and on the army of grills in her back yard.

Sarah earned a BS in Agriculture (Agronomy) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she developed an interest in food production and accessibility. Following a short stint in fields and greenhouses, and some volunteer work leading a gardening group at a senior residence, she returned to school to pursue her Master of Social Work (MSW) with a specialty in Gerontology, at Boston University. During her time at The Cambridge Hospital she was a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Fellow in Geriatric Psychiatry, co-led the Elder Abuse team, became the hospital’s Chief Social Worker, and held a teaching appointment at the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry.

In 2018, Sarah joined the Global Health Institute Board of Visitors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This motivates and aligns with her interest in climate change and its impact on food supply and migration, nutrition, and health. Her additional board positions, past and present, include the Alzheimer’s Association (SF Bay Area Chapter and Northern California Northern Nevada Chapter), BU School of Social Work Dean’s Advisory Board, and Resounding Achord Productions.

Sarah lives in Palo Alto with her husband, DCI Fellow Dave Epstein. They have two grown daughters. She enjoys choral singing, hiking, reading, and listening to jazz.

Fellow: David Epstein