Sarah counts being a member of the NZ Youth Choir as one of her most influential life experiences, especially touring with the choir in 1999 and winning the Choir of the World title at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales. She holds a strong belief in the potential of music to build capable, confident and ambitious people, and advocates for all opportunities for children to access the transformative powers of singing together. In 2013, Sarah co-founded the Prima Volta Charitable Trust, a successful youth initiative in Hawke's Bay that delivers social impact through singing and performing opera alongside professional artists. She led a project to quantify the social return on investment of the programmes, leading to a strong interest in the movement away from GDP as the sole measure of human success.
Outside of music, Sarah forged a career as a strategist in comms agencies, healthcare behaviour change and data and digital, with experience in both public and private sectors. She is passionate about solving problems, building strong financial and operational plans, and distilling complex information into clear and compelling communications. She enjoys consulting for a diverse range of businesses and not-for-profits around building effective, sustainable and innovative programmes, with a particular interest in championing work and causes that create equity, enable our communities and bring about inspiring change.
