Sarah McMullen

Experience

• 

  Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

  Aug 2002 - Dec 2005

  Assistant Manager of Special Events

  -Served as the sales and client manager for corporate, nonprofit, and private clients from booking through event execution.-Planned and assisted with logistical details for 400-600 events annually including board meetings, concerts, lectures, weddings, large-scale internal events, private corporate events, and high-profile receptions.-Managed the Carnegie Music Hall’s part-time staff including the hiring, scheduling, and payroll for 20-25 individuals.

• 

  Carnegie Mellon University

  Oct 2005 - Jan 2011

  -Managed volunteer recruitment, membership, event planning, communications, CRM data/reporting, budget projections/expenses, and strategic outreach for four alumni reunion classes, seven volunteer ---Alumni Interest Groups (AIGs), Greek alumni councils, special reunions, and ad hoc affinity groups.-Expanded the AIGs from four to seven established groups in two years through protocol creation for formalization and strategic outreach.-Spearheaded the creation of affinity donation accounts for established AIGs resulting in an increase in new donors and increase in donation amounts from existing donors.-Developed and produced programming for key alumni weekends and the annual Volunteer Forum. Show less

  • Assistant Director of Alumni Relations

    Oct 2006 - Jan 2011

  • Alumni Events Coordinator

    Oct 2005 - Oct 2006
• 

  Turning Chain Designs

  Sept 2006 - now

  Fiber Artist

  I specialize in embroidery, crochet, and freeform weaving pieces that evoke a sense of wonder and joy. I also enjoy participating in community-based fiber projects.

• 

  Winchester Thurston School

  Jan 2011 - Mar 2013

  -Managed all aspects of parent and alumni committees/councils including: strategic planning, program creation and implementation, event logistics, marketing communications, budgeting, donor cultivation, engagement opportunities creation, and volunteer management.-Executed the best-attended and highest net profit ($160,000) fundraising event in institution history through strategic committee expansion, cost reduction, leveraging of volunteers, and budget analysis. -Conceptualized and executed the yearlong 125th anniversary celebration’s strategic components, communications, outreach, committee management, and events.-Created an online grant resource center for faculty to locate and apply for grants to support classroom learning and personal career growth.

  • Director of Parent and Alumnae/i Relations

    May 2012 - Mar 2013

  • Director of Advancement Programs

    Jan 2011 - May 2012
• 

  University of Pittsburgh

  Mar 2013 - now

  -Key driver and manager for all process improvement initiatives, process reviews, and process documentation across the department. -Impact projects: feedback loop establishment; streamlining of freelance invoice submissions for centralized tracking and expedited payments; creation of templates and processes for content collection, review, and management of client-driven magazines; Marq/monday integration; establishment of department-wide fields in monday.com for client management, project visibility, and leadership reporting; review process development for publications to reduce errors; project/T-shirt sizing implementation. -Establishment and oversight of the UCM monday.com working group leading product governance and best practices, enhancements, and knowledge sharing. -Issue mitigation and client management for video, photo, and marketing project teams. -Creates monday.com boards for complex, department-related functions leading to increased productivity, project visibility, and adoption. -Supervise and coach a team of two, including a manager with her own team. Show less -Directly supported and executed complex and multi-stakeholder short- and long-term projects focused on data integrity, policy creation, process improvement/creation, solution architecture, and risk mitigation for the Vice Chancellor of Advancement Operations.-Served as a key partner for external consultants and vendors. -Served as the Affinaquest (AQ) Salesforce CRM liaison, product owner, business analyst, solution architect, and user advocate for customization and optimization efforts. -Managed training, continuous learning, communications, workflows, process flows, support materials, policy creation, enhancements, and security for over 275 CRM users.-Established and facilitated multi-dimensional and multi-unit teams to ensure a high level of collaboration and user-informed outcomes. -Managed and coached a team of two professional staff responsible for compliance and Salesforce administration. Show less -Managed all strategic planning initiatives, CRM data integrity protocols, operating budgets, program development, event strategies, marketing and outreach, annual reporting, and engagement vision for a six-school cohort of over 65,000 alumni.-Launched new initiatives including: quarterly e-newsletter with an audience of over 30,000 with a sustained 16-20% open rate; rebranding of regional research series; launch of the first health sciences alumni relations website; establishment of CME Category 2 offerings at signature programs; stewardship officer visit/call guidelines and resources.-Completed over 90 individual visits annually for donor qualification, stewardship, cultivation, solicitation, volunteer fit, and partnership identification. -Managed and coached a professional staff of four. Show less (position held concurrently with the Director of Alumni Relations Health Sciences)-Managed five years of strategic expansion producing noticeable and sustained growth for programming and volunteer opportunities at the department and school level resulting in increased alumni attendance, financial donations, and affinity.-Oversaw all aspects of alumni engagement strategy, program development, donor engagement, and volunteer management.-Refined and improved the committee and nomination processes for the Alumni Awards.-Produced copy for external publications, leadership correspondence, program marketing, event scripts, social media, class notes, and event invitations.-Served on the Dean’s Operating Committee leadership council with associate deans advising on the strategy and execution of engagement initiatives for alumni and external partners, communications positioning, and magazine conception. Show less

  • Director, Project Management Office - University Communications and Marketing

    Feb 2024 - now

  • Director of Senior Leadership Projects - Advancement Operations

    Dec 2020 - Feb 2024

  • Director, Alumni Relations Health Sciences

    Mar 2013 - Dec 2020

  • Director, Alumni Relations, Graduate School of Public Health

    Mar 2013 - Mar 2018