Sarah Burdick

Background

About Sarah Burdick

I have always had the perfect job for me, which means my career path has been winding yet purposeful. Living in Europe led me to earn a Master's in city planning and worked first for a small bike-loving college town, followed by a sprawling mid-western city. Although I enjoyed reviewing site plans and loved working as the planner assigned to the department help-desk, my personal life forced an early retirement. I had one child followed by twins 14 months later, so I quit my job and went into survival mode. When I came up for air, my number one criteria was that my next job allow me to work from home. It turned out I loved serving as Area Director for AuPairCare and stayed until the children were in middle school. Because of word-of-mouth referrals, I grew the number of families in my town from 15 to 75. I was an advocate for the au pairs when they needed it, as well as a marketer, event planer, customer service agent, and negotiator when there was trouble between the au pair and family. When my children reached middle school I pivoted again, this time in order to take advantage of the tuition assistance that Duke University offers to children of their employees. As office manager for the Center for Strategic Philanthropy, I learned first hand how philanthropy an non-profits partner to solve real world problems. After three years there I was promoted to Facilities Management. My duties shifted from administrative and event planning work to communication. I was responsible for highlighting all the behind-the-scenes work done by the 500+ people in the department. I wrote the newsletter, produced PowerPoints, posted on social media, wrote letters for the VP's signature, and was the point-person responsible for all emails for the entire department. I also helped prepare the materials and wrote the minutes for one of the Duke Board of Trustees committees. I was so proud of the work done by my colleagues and loved telling their stories. Once the kids left for college my husband’s job moved to Chicago. I worked in development and moved quickly from a admin job to Director of Donor Relations during my 3.5 year tenure. In 2023 I accepted a job as the Executive Assistant for the CEO of IFF, a large CDFI which works at the intersection of facilities and finance for its nonprofit clients. My career path isn't straight or even progressive, but I have been lucky to balance work life with family life. I am a writer, researcher, problem solver and customer service agent, regardless of what the job title is.