Staff
Sarah Demers, a world reknown particle physicist, joined Yale’s faculty in 2009 following a postdoc with the SLAC National Accelerator Center at Stanford. She did her PhD at Fermilab’s TeVatron as a student at the University of Rochester and she received her AB in physics from Harvard University. A member of the ATLAS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and the Mu2e Collaboration at Fermilab, she investigates the fundamental building blocks of nature and the forces through which they interact.
A Department of Energy Early Career Award winner and Fellow of the American Physical Society, she has served as a CERN Associate Scientist and chaired the US ATLAS Institutional Board, led the ATLAS Data Preparation group and currently serves as the Mu2e Trigger Coordinator. She is on many national and international advisory committees, including for the Particle Data Group, which maintains the world averages for particle properties, and the International Muon Collider Collaboration. At Yale she has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies for physics, chaired the University Faculty Committee on Athletics, chaired the College Committee on Majors, sits on the Provost’s budget advisory group, and has been a member of the UWC since 2014. She has won several teaching awards, most recently the 2024 Dylan Hixon Prize for teaching in the natural sciences. In 2019 she co-wrote the book “Physics and Dance” with dancer, choreographer, and Yale faculty member Dr. Emily Coates.
Anita Sharif-Hyder has training in counseling and has served as Senior Associate Director of the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct since December 2014. At Yale since 2006, Anita previously served as Assistant Director of Programs and Admissions at Yale World Fellows. Anita has a background in psychology and international affairs, and professional experience in student services, restorative justice practices and higher education administration. Originally from Bangladesh, Anita has lived in Venezuela, Kuwait, Egypt and India and is conversant in five languages. She serves on the advisory board for the Asian-American Cultural Center and the Provost Office’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee. Anita is also the Associate Head of Trumbull College.
Elizabeth “Ellie” Hurd Tiboni joined the UWC in October 2023. At Yale in 2019, she supported the Chair’s Office in Neurology and Anesthesiology at the medical school, as well as the Institution on Social and Policy Studies (ISPS). She has a background in psychology and forensic psychology / criminal justice. Originally hailing from Minnesota, Ellie thoroughly enjoys the East Coast version of winter. She was married at the end of September and spends most of her free time outdoors or restoring a 1987 Volkswagen Vanagon with her husband.
Kelly Guerra joined Yale and the UWC as Project Coordinator in May 2024, after serving ten years as a middle school English teacher. She has a background in English, education, and psychology from Boston University and holds a Master’s in the Art of Teaching from Sacred Heart University. Kelly is an avid reader of all genres and is a member of a fiction writing group. Her short story, “Ever After,” was recently published with Fathom Publishing Company. Kelly also enjoys cooking, hiking, photography, and exploring her home state of Connecticut with her husband.