Sara E. Marino is a lifelong New Jersey resident and has been a music educator in Monmouth County since 2002.  She teaches 4–8 instrumental and general music as well as coordinates K–8 gifted education in Fair Haven, NJ.  Dr. Marino directs the marching band at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.  She is also a lecturer at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and a cooperating teacher for Mason Gross School of the Arts music student teachers.

Dr. Marino studied music education and flute performance at the University of Delaware and the design of learning environments at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University.  Her research interests include jazz improvisation pedagogy at the middle school level, and she has presented on this topic at various conferences and events: National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference (2019), New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Annual Conference (2019, 2020), Jazz Education Network 15th Annual Conference (2024), Rutgers Music Education Assembly (2024), and Key of She Jazz Jam '24 (2024). She has also written for the MakeMusic blog (formerly SmartMusic).   Please see Dr. Marino's recent publication in the Journal of Research in Music Education:

Marino, S.E., & Chinn, C.A. (2023). Jazz improvisation pedagogy: Evaluating the effectiveness of a beginning jazz improvisation learning environment for middle school instrumentalists. Journal of Research in Music Education, 71(3), 322–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294221150019