Sara Gallagher is a member of Calvert Foundation’s Strategic Initiatives team and serves as the Program Officer for IdEA (the International diaspora Engagement Alliance). As the Program Officer for IdEA, Sara manages initiatives in the areas of philanthropy, investment and entrepreneurship, and volunteerism to leverage the unique strengths and resources of diasporas. Alongside engagement programming for diasporas, Sara develops resources for diaspora groups to build their capacities to serve their missions, including trainings and networking opportunities.
Before joining Calvert Foundation and IdEA as the Program Officer, Sara was a WRAG Philanthropy Fellow at Calvert Foundation and at The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. During this period she was also the Chair of the Do Good Challenge, a unique philanthropy and entrepreneurship competition at the University of Maryland that galvanizes college students to do good for causes they’re passionate about or to start or advance their own social enterprises. Prior to that, Sara was the Development Associate at the Arlington Arts Center, where she managed fundraising initiatives and foundation relationships.
Sara received her Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies and Middle Eastern Languages from McGill University in Quebec, Canada and her Master of Public Policy in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the University of Maryland, College Park.