Five Questions: Sarah Burns, SAL’s Event & Corporate Giving Manager
October 31, 2019
Meet Sarah Burns, world-explorer extraordinaire, who is joining us in a new role at SAL as our Event & Corporate Giving Manager! So the SAL community can better get to know her, we asked Sarah five questions about what excites her about the position, what’s on her nightstand, and some of her many adventures abroad . . .
Tell us a little about your career, pre-SAL. What have you been up to?
I’ve spent a fair bit of my career in the travel industry planning and guiding small groups. I’ve recently been working with the travel company Explorer X curating a travel event series to build community around travel and destinations. I spent three seasons sailing in Antarctica, led trips in Alaska, escorted National Geographic explorers. I’ve hosted farm-to-table dinners with Outstanding in the Field across the U.S. and Europe.
What’s your new role with us? What about it is most exciting to you?
Two of my favorite things in the world are connecting people and hosting parties and this is what I get to do in my role as Event & Corporate Giving Manager for SAL. I’ve been a huge fan of SAL for years, attending the Poetry Series and fundraising events. I am excited to get even more involved with the volunteers, donors, corporate partners, guests, ushers, vendors—all these old and soon-to-be-new friends who love books and culture in this amazing City of Literature we live in.
What are some of your favorite things to do outside of work?
I’m a library junkie and like to hit my local branch regularly to drop off books and pick up the next stack—it’s like Christmas all the time! I scribble in notebooks, write poems, create little anthologies, write lists. I love to hike and try to get out into the mountains or out to the beach as often as possible. I like to head out on adventures of all kinds with my husband and two kids, whether that is checking out a new park, traveling to a new country, or trying out a new recipe.
What are you reading right now? What’s on your nightstand?
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo, The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer, and The Genius in the Design: Bernini, Borromini, and the Rivalry that Transformed Rome by Jake Morrisey.
If you had to invite 3 writers (dead or alive) to a dinner party, who would they be?
M.F.K Fisher, Diane Ackerman, and Maya Angelou. Wouldn’t that be a fun party?
Thank you, Sarah!