Partner + Owner
Sarah Mayer grew up surrounded by entrepreneurs. Most of the members of her immediate family have owned small businesses and startups. It was long-term exposure, to both successful and failed businesses, that sparked her passion to work with entrepreneurs, think like an entrepreneur, and to be one herself.
Sarah is a native Pittsburgher but has lived and worked in Portland, OR, and Seattle, WA. Her business experience includes marketing and communications in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Her passion lies in marketing communication and all things digital marketing. She is experienced in paid search, SEO, social media, email marketing, website content development, and website management.
How it began
One of her first positions was with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, where she held various roles from 2002 through 2005. Sarah enjoyed working in the non-profit sector and also promoting Downtown Pittsburgh. Her major responsibilities at the PDP included coordinating and implementing major event marketing campaigns. This included Light Up Night—one of the largest annual events in Downtown Pittsburgh. She was responsible for cultivating corporate sponsorships, managing special event budgets, planning and orchestrating the membership and property owner meetings, and coordinating the undergraduate intern program.
In 2005, Sarah left the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to join A Place for Mom, the nation’s largest senior care referral service, to serve as Marketing Director. In this role, Sarah showcased her ambition with an exploration into new areas of marketing and communications, such as social media and paid search marketing. At A Place for Mom, Sarah was responsible for launching, managing, and measuring marketing campaigns for both B2B and B2C audiences, online marketing business development, content marketing, management of social media channels, company event oversight, and coordinating internal communications.
How it’s going
After being a part of rapid growth and two major funding events at A Place for Mom, Sarah decided it was time to venture out on her own. She founded a marketing consultancy where she worked with a variety of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations. Working with clients on marketing strategy, implementation, and measurement ultimately led her to partner with other like-minded marketing and communications professionals. The idea for Shift Collaborative began through those strategic relationships.
Community
- Active board volunteer – formerly with Sojourner House and Sojourner MOMS, Together Digital Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse
- Wildwood Golf Club Marketing committee and Racquets committee
- Communications Committee of Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh
- Google Ads certified
Interests
- Watching movies with her son
- Taking her dog to Hartwood Acres
- Finding ways to cook up CSA ingredients
- Attempting to play tennis
- Reading historical fiction
Education
- The University of Pittsburgh, dual degree in English Writing and Business Administration
