Sarah Trainor Graves, 2013
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.