Board Profile: Sarah Porter

Sarah Porter

To say that Sarah Porter is dedicated to bettering our community truly is an understatement. Sarah’s devotion to helping our region’s nonprofit organizations is evidenced by here consistent support of not only The Discovery, but the Reno Philharmonic and many others. Sarah Porter is entering her second year as member of The Discovery’s board of directors, but her involvement with the museum dates back far more than two years.

Sarah joined the effort that helped make The Discovery a reality during the museum’s capital campaign. She worked with the museum’s early fundraising team to help raise the $22 million the museum needed to purchase the building, begin construction, and build/install the initial collection of exhibits. After the construct was safely underway, Sarah turned her support to the Reno Philharmonic, co-chairing their Pops on the River event for six years. Then, in 2017, Sarah joined The Discovery’s board of directors and now chairs the Development Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee.

Sarah’s goal as a board member is to help the museum support 75% or more of its annual operating budget with earned revenue or endowed funds. She also wants to see the museum constantly evolve to that visitors are always excited to come back for a return visit. Sarah would like The Discovery to reach a point where there is never anything broken, missing or worn out because there are always resources to repair or maintain the exhibits. And while she appreciates that The Discovery is an all-ages science center, she wants the museum to stay true to its roots and be a place for kids, primarily, to experience and get excited about STEAM.

“The Discovery is an incredible organization and asset to our community. Our boys have had many birthday parties at the museum, attended camps every year, and enjoy learning and growing when attending through our membership. As a board member, I especially want to see science education through play at The Discovery thrive for many generations.”

When Sarah is not running Porterhouse Marketing, managing client relations and marketing strategy for her list of clients, she spends time with her two boys and her husband. They love family movie nights and going four-wheeling in the many spacious areas around their home. She also loves to cook for family and friends and often hosts parties, either planned or impromptu. Food is another passion of Sarah’s, so you can often find her at a cooking class, out to dinner, or shopping in a specialty food store. Additionally, she loves to go dancing with her husband, which they do as often as possible.

Sarah was also a presenter at this year’s TEDxUniversityofNevada event. Her powerful presentation about why we say “Never” and how it limits our possibilities can be seen below.