INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Chalmers Morse, Executive Director/CEO of the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County, has announced that Sara Smith has joined the organization as its Director of Development effective Sept. 12.
“Sara brings a wealth of fundraising and marketing experience to our Shelter’s team,” Morse said. “Her talents will empower us to better serve over 7,000 animals each year and prepare us for the greater challenges we must face in the future.”
Smith is no stranger to the Indian River County philanthropy scene, having served as Director of Marketing and Communication for Saint Edward’s School, where she handled the school’s communications strategy, admissions advertising, publications, and web content.
Previously, she was Vice President for Advancement at Monmouth University in New Jersey, being the first woman appointed to senior executive leadership in the university’s history.
Also, Smith served as Director of Advancement for West Palm Beach’s Norton Museum of Art, where she guided the museum through its first $30 million capital campaign and expansion. Most recently, she was responsible for the Foundation Relations program at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, authoring the communications for a capital campaign that concluded in April with a record-setting $123 million raised.
Smith, a graduate of Bard College in New York, lives in Vero Beach with her husband Louis. In her free time, Smith writes fiction and is represented by the Marlene Stringer Literary Agency. She was one of three finalists for this year’s Knickerbocker Prize and has been a nominee for the Ploughshares Emerging Writer Award.
The HSVB & IRC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping and protecting the animals of Indian River County.
