As Senior Director of Development - Team Lead for Schools, Sara oversees school- and unit-based directors of development who have reporting lines to Development and Alumni Relations. Her fundraising responsibilities entail planning and executing strategies involving interdisciplinary philanthropic priorities, as well as those of highest priority to the Provost, communicating these priorities and success to donors and prospective donors, supporting activities that help thank alumni who give, and finding specific opportunities where alumni can engage with the University.

Sara came to Rice in October 2007, starting as a regional major gift officer for the Northern California area and Pacific Northwest. She moved to the School of Engineering in 2011, becoming Engineering Team Lead in October 2014 and Senior Director in 2018. She became Team Lead over Schools in 2020. Prior to Rice University, Sara worked for the Texas A&M Foundation for six years as a Director of Development for the College of Engineering, with primary responsibility for the Departments of Petroleum Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Nuclear Engineering. She attended Texas A&M University – College Station, where she graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and minors in Business and Public Relations.