Harvard University

Sarah Baker took over the Harvard-Radcliffe lightweight crew team on July 29, 2015 and enters her ninth season with the program in 2023-24.

In April 2021, the endowment of the women's lightweight rowing head coach position was announced and Baker became the first David K. Richards '61 Family Head Coach for Radcliffe Lightweight Crew.

Baker and her Radcliffe lightweight rowing team returned to action in 2022 to race competitively for the first time in nearly three years. Under her guidance, Radcliffe posted a 2-2 record on the year. Radcliffe ended the year with a third place finish at Eastern Sprints and a fifth place mark at the IRA National Championships. 

Both the 2020 and 2021 campaigns were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the 2017 campaign, Baker guided Radcliffe to a gold medal at Head of the Charles, and the team won the Eastern Sprints crown. The team went 4-2 in dual meets and finished fifth at the IRAs.

In her first season with the Black and White, Radcliffe earned a silver medal at the Eastern Sprints and took home bronze at the IRA National Championships. 

Baker brought extensive experience and leadership to the Black and White as an elite-level lightweight rower, coach, and trustee of Riverside Boat Club. From 2007-2013 Baker competed in World Championship Trials, National Selection Regattas, National Championships, Canadian Henley, and Head of the Charles.

Before that, Baker split her time between the sculling group at Riverside Boat Club (2013-2015), preparing athletes for Canadian Henley and National Championships, and The Winsor School (2012-2015), helping the 3V and 4V place first at the 2013 New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championships. As a trustee, Baker ensures the continuity of Riverside Boat Club’s vision and serves as a steward of the organization. Over the past two years, she supervised the annual report, headed committees, and advised on the launch of the Development Program.

No stranger to Harvard, Baker served as a Harvard Business School faculty assistant from 2008-15. Baker graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2005, where she was the vice president of Georgia Tech Rowing.