Sarah Pitcock Lohnes is a former nonprofit CEO who is passionate about creating compelling content that generates support for important causes. Sarah helps her clients get to the root of why their work matters, where they add the most value and how to communicate that purpose and value effectively. Whether for fundraising, stakeholder engagement or field building, Sarah supports her clients by developing strategic content for their key audiences.
With a background in research across many disciplines, Sarah “gets smart” on new topics quickly, as is evidenced by her portfolio of work spanning education, child welfare, refugee resettlement, workforce development, transportation and neuroscience.
Previously, Sarah held progressive leadership roles in a 10-year career at the National Summer Learning Association, culminating as its chief executive officer from 2013 to 2016. She has served as an expert source for NPR, NBC News, Education Week, Essence Magazine and the Baltimore Sun, among other media outlets. She is co-editor and co-author of the research anthology, The Summer Slide: What We Know and Can Do About Summer Learning Loss (Teachers College Press, 2016). Prior to NSLA, she served as marketing manager at the Orlando Repertory Theatre and deputy press secretary for the Mayor of Baltimore. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University and bachelor’s degrees in public relations and political science from the University of Florida. Sarah lives in Baltimore City with her husband, son and two small dogs named Lucy.
In just two years as a consultant, Sarah has raised more than $500,000 in new grant funding for the Maryland Book Bank and Hello Neighbor, adding to the millions of dollars she has raised from public and private sources for important causes throughout her career.