Our Team
Our Story
Environment & Culture Partners (ECP) was founded in 2021 with a clear mission to strengthen and broaden the cultural sector’s environmental leadership.
In 2020, after over 25 years of environment and climate consulting through her small business Sustainable Museums, ECP co-founder Sarah Sutton knew it was time to level up. While working with individual organizations was a step in the right direction towards climate action, Sarah knew that the rate and scale of change needed to meet the challenges of the climate crisis required a new, bolder approach.
That same year, Stephanie Shapiro, a long-time friend and colleague, approached Sarah with a proposal for a different kind of environmental consultancy – one that took a broader view of the cultural sector’s role in the climate crisis; one that emphasized collaborative approaches that could leverage strength in numbers and realize wider and enduring change more quickly that operating alone could.
In September 2021, Sustainable Museums became Environment & Culture Partners. Our focus today is working at a sector-level to empower museums, zoos, gardens, aquariums and historic sites to implement evidence-based environment and climate solutions.
Our Team
Sarah Sutton, co-founder and CEO (she/her)
Sarah is an international museum leader and award-winning climate advocate. For over 20 years, Sarah has spearheaded global climate action through her cross-sector work empowering cultural institutions to fund, implement, and add their voices to climate action. Sarah drives ECP’s vision for sustainable and evidence-based climate action in the cultural sector.
In 2022 and 2023, Sarah was named to Blooloop’s Power 10 List of Museum Influencers. Sarah holds a LEED-AP certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, served as a Salzburg Fellow in 2017, and earned the American Alliance of Museum’s Environment and Climate Professional Network’s Individual Impact Award.
Sarah lives in Tacoma, WA and can be found paddling, backpacking, gardening, and tending to her chickens.
Stephanie Shapiro, co-founder and Managing Director (she/her)
Stephanie is a strategic advisor and collaborator, with specific expertise in the climate and cultural sectors. With a 13-year track record of delivering complex and high-impact projects, Stephanie specializes in building strong partnerships to gain traction for lasting change. Stephanie works at a systems-level to strengthen and accelerate environmental leadership of the cultural sector.
She has spent the last decade managing programs and teams implementing high-impact, tailored data-driven solutions for lasting change across the government, non-profit, and private sectors. She also holds her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute.
Stephanie lives in Washington, DC with her husband Devin and dog Duncan. She can be found baking, needlepointing, and visiting local breweries and wineries.
Danielle Sakowski, Program Manager (she/her)
Danielle is a dedicated culture and community professional, bringing both academic expertise through her Master of Arts in Museology and five years of field experience from five museums. Danielle has a focus on community engagement and communication to unlock the potential of the cultural sector in climate leaning and change. She works across the ECP’s functions and portfolio to support cultural organizations building their climate practice.
Danielle delights in learning about the compelling intersections of culture and climate and believes strongly in the cultural sector’s power to inspire hope and action.
Danielle lives in Seattle, WA. She likes to explore unfamiliar places and visit new museums every chance she gets.