Sarah M. Washington, Local Director, is an Associate General Counsel at National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation in Williamsville, New York. She served as the inaugural chair of the Company’s Ethnically Diverse Group of Employees (EDGE) Employee Resource Group.

Sarah has been actively involved in our legal community. She is immediate-past Vice President of the Minority Bar Foundation. In that role, Sarah assisted in mentoring law students and fundraising to support both current and future law students. In June of 2022, Sarah was elected as Treasurer-Elect for the Bar Association of Erie County where she then served as Treasurer in 2023. In 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as the President of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York (MBAWNY). Prior to serving as President, she served as Vice-President/President-Elect, as a Director, and as Corresponding Secretary. Sarah has also been actively involved in SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association. She is a Past-President of the Law Alumni Association’s Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Group. Prior to serving as President, Sarah served the GOLD Group as Vice President/President-Elect, Treasurer, and Treasurer-Elect. She currently serves as a Vice President on the Law Alumni Association’s Board of Directors.

Sarah has also volunteered her time and talents with Nichols School and Buffalo Prep. She is the Immediate-Past President of the Alumni Board at Nichols School, and she currently serves as a Director on Buffalo Prep’s Board of Directors. In 2025, Buffalo Prep honored her as their Distinguished Alumna with the “Lift As You Climb” award.

Sarah is most proud of the professional recognition she has received from her peers and the legal community. She has received the following awards and accolades: Buffalo Business First, Power 100 Business Leaders of Color (2025); Buffalo Black Achievers Awardee (2025); Bar Association of Erie County, Special Service Award (2025);Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Western New York Chapter, Diversity Leadership Award (2025); UB Law School Students of Color Dinner, Trailblazer Awardee (2023), Buffalo Black Achievers Awardee (2022), National Black Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40 (New York) (2021); Upstate New York Super Lawyers, Rising Star (2020, 2021); New York State Bar Association’s Honorable Judith S. Kaye Commercial and Federal Litigation Scholarship (2019); Buffalo Business First, 30 Under 30 (2019); and The Daily Record’s Excellence in the Law, Up & Coming Attorney (2018).

Sarah is a native of Buffalo, New York. She is a proud alumna of Nichols School. She pursued her undergraduate and juris doctorate degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She resides in East Amherst with her husband, Shawn, and their three children.