For this month’s Meet Your Metro we’re highlighting Foundation Program Manager, Savannah Fox.
In her role, she oversees three of the Foundation’s core programs: Metro EDGE, Leadership Sacramento (including the Alumni Association), and Inspire Giving. More precisely, she is “all things for all of those programs” which allows her to provide support in various ways. “I get to do something completely different every day, no two days are the same,” explains Savannah. With so many amazing yearlong and seasonal programs, time moves swiftly from one thing to the next at Sac Metro. Our more senior team members can attest that it truly takes a year to see it all come together. Last month, Savannah celebrated her one-year work anniversary so to commemorate this we’re giving you her first-year insights!
Leadership Sac’s warm welcome
Upon starting her role in April, Savannah made the big move to Sacramento from the Bay Area. As someone who is newer to the Sacramento region, she felt tremendously welcomed by the entire Foundation family including volunteer leaders, community partners, and local businesses. She admittedly didn’t realize just how big of a regional impression the Foundation had when interviewing.
“I think the amount of people that we as a Foundation reach in the community is truly incredible!” says Savannah. “I had no idea when interviewing for this role how sprawling and grand the community is that engages with all seven programs of the Metro Chamber Foundation, and I continue to meet new people every day that have been involved over the years.”
Some of the first individuals she met included the 2022 Leadership Sacramento class who also contributed to one of her first and favorite memories. “I remember being really nervous about meeting so many new people and was not sure what to expect, but meeting the chairs at the time, Crystal Richardson and Mike Isle, they were so fun and welcoming, it immediately broke the ice. I got to experience my first “behind the scenes” of Sacramento and I remember thinking wow, this job is really cool!” she recalls.
Savannah was also amazed to see how dynamically a group of community leaders came together. She adds, “The 2022 class did an incredible job renovating the Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center’s outdoor area making it accessible for their seniors and beautifying the garden area. It was one of those times where everything clicked for me and I saw the lasting impact we were leaving in the community, and the connections that were made out of this program for so many.”
Big wins emerging
In addition to meeting many new faces, Savannah hit the ground running on program operations. She spent much of her first year learning how to do her role while also navigating the return to in-person programming such as Emerge Summit (Metro EDGE’s annual Young Professionals conference) which hadn’t been offered in-person since 2019. “For the longest time, I did not really understand what the event was, but as planning went underway I quickly learned all of the complexities that went into planning a one-day regional young professionals conference,” says Savannah. With 300+ in attendance, 15 breakout sessions, and a popular afterparty, the event was a tremendous success under Savannah’s leadership.
It is no surprise that she credits this flawless execution as her ‘biggest win’ of last year. “To have it go off without any hiccups and to have positive feedback from the event was an amazing win for me, and really validated all of the hard work I put into the event!” she excitedly recalls. In case you missed it, Savannah is planning to go even bigger for 2023 so mark your calendar for September 21st!
Looking ahead
When asked to sum up her first year in three words, Savannah stated that it was “crazy, fast, and fun”. In looking ahead, she is excited to use the knowledge she’s obtained to grow engagement for the Foundation’s programs and create more opportunities for involvement. “I have quickly learned to love Sacramento and want to leave a lasting legacy through these programs for this community.“
You can support or learn more about the programs Savannah manages on our new Foundation main page.