Dr. Sherri (“Sam”) A. Mason is a professor of chemistry. She was a faculty member at the State University of New York Fredonia from 2001 to 2018 where she was also chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences from 2016 to 2018. Mason holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Montana and is a leading researcher in freshwater plastic pollution. Dr. Mason’s research was among the first to study the prevalence and impact of plastic pollution within freshwater ecosystems, most notably the Laurentian Great Lakes.  Her research formed the basis for the Microbeads-Free Water Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in December 2015. She has also been awarded EPA Environmental Champion in 2016, Excellence in Environmental Research by the Earth Month Network in 2017, and the Heinz Award in Public Policy in 2018. She currently serves as Director of Sustainability at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.