Sarah Solarz ’15, JD, is a staff attorney at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. A graduate of Adelphi and Pace Law, she’s also a mentor, volunteer and mom. Sarah credits Adelphi for inspiring her path in environmental law and her commitment to public service.
Member of Adelphi University’s 10 Under 10
Staff attorney at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Sarah Solarz ’15, JD, is a staff attorney at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), where she provides legal support to the agency’s Environmental Quality Branch. Her work spans air, water, waste, pesticides, remediation and emergency response—drafting regulations, interpreting environmental legislation and supporting enforcement efforts that protect Connecticut’s communities and ecosystems.
Sarah graduated magna cum laude from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in 2018, earning a certificate in environmental law. She discovered her passion for public interest law through meaningful internships with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau and the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, in partnership with Riverkeeper.
Her professional journey began at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through the Excelsior Service Fellowship, where she spent several years working on water quality regulations and enforcing the Clean Water Act. She later joined Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority before stepping into her current role at DEEP.
At Adelphi, Sarah double-majored in environmental studies and political science. A formative class with late senior adjunct faculty member Regina Axelrod, PhD, inspired her interest in environmental law, and study abroad experiences in Australia and the U.S. Virgin Islands reinforced her love of the natural world. Deeply engaged in campus life, Sarah served as president of the Class of 2015, a resident assistant and as a tutor in Adelphi’s Writing Center.
Outside of work, she serves as co-chair of the Connecticut Pace Environmental Law Alumni Association, mentors law students and volunteers with her local land trust, leading development efforts and organizing weekend work parties to protect pollinator habitats. She says her greatest accomplishment is learning to balance her work while raising her daughter.
Sarah credits Adelphi with shaping her values, career direction and support system: “Adelphi gave me the confidence to lead, the tools to pursue environmental law and friendships that have stood the test of time.”