Meet Sarah Graves, 2013 Alum

Sarah Trainor Graves ‘13, is currently the Chief Development Officer at the Louisville Urban League (LUL),
where she is the youngest member of the organization’s leadership team. The mission of LUL is to assist African Americans and other marginalized populations in attaining social and economic equality through direct services and advocacy by focusing on jobs, justice, education, health, and housing. Sarah is responsible for leading the fundraising efforts of the organization and maintaining corporate partnerships. She draws on her 10+ years of experience in project management, relationship building, and marketing to expand the reach of the organization, plan LUL’s two signature events, and build meaningful and sustainable relationships with businesses and individuals. She also launched her own consulting firm, Graves Strategic Partners, focusing on fundraising, grant writing, strategy, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

While a student at Patterson, Sarah began interning at Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned companies in the spirits and wine industry. She remained with the company for almost four years, spending time at the corporate headquarters in Louisville and with the field sales team in New Jersey. Sarah also worked as an English teacher for two years in Madrid, Spain. In addition to her M.A. from Patterson, Sarah holds a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish Language and Literature from Saint Louis University (Madrid campus) and a Project Management Certificate from Ramapo College of New Jersey. Sarah is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is fluent in Spanish.