Having grown up with parents who were teachers active in volunteer work, Sandy Marshall will tell you giving back was part of her upbringing. But it wasn’t until college that she realized she could make a career of it.
Sandy majored in public policy with a nonprofit emphasis at the University of Southern California, and immediately upon leaving college, began working at a nonprofit.
Fast forward a few years. While working as a community relations manager for NASCAR, Sandy began to see the potential for the sport to start making a different kind of impact off the track and in the community. She launched the first national cause campaign for NASCAR in NASCAR Day. Her efforts earned her the role of founder and executive director of the NASCAR Foundation, a children-focused nonprofit offshoot she served in and grew for seven years.
Three years ago, Sandy left the world of sports, but not her path of nonprofit work. She started Project Scientist, a national initiative which helps girls age four and up pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The nonprofit aims to change the world’s view of ‘who’ a scientist is and ‘what’ a scientist does.
“Similar to entrepreneurs who have stories of launching a product or starting a company because they had a need that wasn’t being met, I had this need as a parent,” Sandy says. “A lot of my friends had this same need, too. Parents and girls all over have a need for Project Scientist.”
If that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Sandy also found the time to found SMA Impact, a for-profit agency that helps nonprofit companies with their special impact. It helps budding nonprofits with everything from strategy and partnerships to development, PR and marketing plans. We can’t think of a better woman to inspire you, dear readers, or that special young woman in your life. (Hint: Forward this article to her!)