Sarah Sanford is an experienced nonprofit executive with more than 20 years experience and a proven track record of producing value for stakeholders through visionary, entrepreneurial, and progressive leadership and management. Well versed in strategic planning and transformation, governance and Board development, financial turnarounds, credentialing, and subsidiary creation.

At the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Sarah is responsible for providing transition leadership and stabilizing operations. Her focus is to develop NYAHSA's strategic plan, metrics, implementation plan; infrastructure; developing an accountability-based operation and performance management system; and, strategically integrating for-profit and nonprofit subsidiaries with parent organization.

As Executive Director at the Society of Actuaries and The Actuarial Foundation, Sarah was responsible for budgets of $30 million and nearly 110 staff. She developed and institutionalized strategic planning utilizing the Balanced Scorecard framework; developed strategy management system utilizing volunteer-staff partnership model and collaboratively developed metrics; redefined organizational governance and implemented knowledge based strategic governance; built a culture of responsiveness to member and customer needs based upon ongoing market and member research.

Sarah is a long-time active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). She held key national leadership roles, including two terms on the Board of Directors and served on numerous committees, and sections.

For the ASAE Foundation (now the Center for Association Leadership), she served as Board Chair, Treasurer, and on multiple committees. Sarah also served on the Measures Task Force applying Jim Collins’ Good to Great and Built to Last methodologies to nonprofit organizations, culminating in the 2006 publication of 7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t.

Sarah has been active in the Association Forum of Chicagoland where she was honored as the 2006 recipient of the Samuel B. Shapiro Award for CEO Excellence.

Sarah received a Masters of Arts degree in Nursing, Physiology, and Hospital Administration and a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing both from the University of Washington. In addition, Sarah atended the Executive Education program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Sarah was a Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation by American Society of Association Executives.