Sara Cross

Leading customer and partner engagement in the Executive Office of the President, Cloud Operations + Innovation.

Led the analyst relations program for Microsoft Business Applications and Agents spanning CX, ERP, CRM, and Contact Center. Drove YoY Leader positions in 10+ rated research reports to support field enablement, including Gartner Magic Quadrants, Forrester Waves, and IDC MarketScapes. Reports aligned to business critical categories across Agentic Business Applications. Partnered closely with leaders across product, marketing, PR, and sales to help shape strategy, inform roadmap, land key messaging, enable sales, amplify key moments and disclosures, and deliver the best solutions to our customers. Responsible for developing and executing strategy for new squad model optimizing for efficiency and execution excellence. Managed a squad of three agency partners and contractors.

Analyst Relations lead for CX and Service, including Dynamics 365 Sales, Copilot for Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Copilot for Service, Dynamics 365 Contact Center, and Dynamics 365 Field Service. Coached and advised executives across product and marketing to deliver high impact engagement with key analysts and drive insight to action. Developed and executed strategic cadence with analysts for actionable feedback on roadmap investments during semester planning, opportunities for differentiation, and three product launches including the first Copilot in Dynamics 365, Copilot for Sales and Service, and Dynamics 365 Contact Center.

Copywriter for GitHub Education. Created marketing assets and toolkits, newsletters, outreach emails, social media copy, and blog posts to support events, programs, products, and partnerships.

• Led communications for CUNY Central’s Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Programs, directing communications for 15+ cross-functional teams. • Managed concept development for CUNY’s Career Success on Campus Program, increasing the university’s capacity to provide students with fundamental career readiness and internships. Responsible for securing $1.3 million across multiple funders and working with industry leaders to identify training needs for peer leaders and in-demand skills for job-seekers. • Delivered digital certifications, stackable credentials and industry-driven trainings to thousands of students and alumni through CUNY's first upskilling initiative. Executed the CUNY 90-Day Upskilling Challenge in partnership with Cisco, Google, Coursera, HP LIFE, General Assembly and Accenture. Responsible for developing marketing strategies and website content, disseminating media assets and overseeing data collection and analysis. • Created, pitched, scheduled and executed marketing campaigns to support university-wide programs including CUNY's job-seeking tips series, engaging more than 70,000 learners in the first month against a goal of 50,000. • Engaged more than 250,000 students across 25 colleges in workforce development activities. Interfaced with partners, employers, students and internal teams to create recruitment strategies and integrated marketing campaigns. • Established and oversaw collaboration with the Chancellor and implementation of digital campaigns. • Advised and executed for senior leadership, including ghostwriting and developing internal guidelines and processes to maximize engagement. • Project managed campaigns for the Census Project, successfully shifting 250 students to a digital organizing strategy in response to COVID-19. • Chaired the University Social Media Council, leading university campaigns and monthly meetings.

• Created and executed the first marketing and communications strategy for CUNY's Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Programs. Increased social media followers by over 4,500% against a goal of 2,000% by producing original content, standardizing media requests, cross-marketing with internal and external partners, and effectively launching a digital media brand. • Led website redesign, launch, and dissemination by building original content for cross-functional teams, organizing wire-frames, and overseeing resources, doubling the rate of site traffic within six months. • Managed social media channels, creating a cohesive voice and operationalizing digital marketing and engagement with students, faculty, colleges, funders, and industry leaders. • Shaped and executed integrated marketing campaigns for students including job opportunities, fellowships, and events, increasing student engagement with companies including Wells Fargo, Deerfield Management, New York City 311, Google, and more. • Constructed segmented email marketing campaigns and personalized strategy briefs for experiential learning events, social media campaigns, and recruitment opportunities. • Forged relationships with key industry leaders to build strategic partnerships to grow the CUNY Tech Meetup Program. Hosted monthly experiential learning and networking events, increasing Meetup membership by 1,000 members, exceeding the annual membership goal by 20%. • Managed and maintained internal and external status sheets, recaps, audits, and data tracking for all media and communications. • Communicated with industry professionals and career services staff across all 25 campuses to create a strong network and digital community. • Member of the Business Engagement Committee, Committee on Student Recruitment, and Co-Chair of the University Digital Council.

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect is committed to social justice and advocating for the kinder and fairer world of which Anne Frank dreamed. As a bold voice for equality, the Center puts a spotlight on issues such as civil and human rights, Antisemitism, and the dangers of intolerance. • Oversaw Instagram platform, increasing followers by more than 325 percent within eight months against a goal of 100 percent in 12 months. • Organized legislative outreach strategy for landmark 50 State Genocide Education Project to galvanize nationwide support to strengthen Holocaust and genocide education laws. • Performed research on state-by-state education policies, identified target legislators to lobby, and updated status reports. • Drafted annual appeal materials and correspondence for senior executives, including memos, op-eds, statements, speeches, and talking points for media interviews. • Researched and crafted grant applications to obtain funding for public programming. • Managed internship program, including recruitment, training, scheduling, and overseeing four interns per cycle. • Evaluated and managed strategic partnerships to expand the Center’s message and further its social justice mission. • Coordinated national public programs on human rights and social justice, organizing panel speakers, and drafting press releases and media alerts. • Point of contact for legislators, executive board members, and external partners regarding work activities, including facilitating meetings, status reports, and event logistics. • Provided support to the communications department, including scheduling, taking meeting minutes, monitoring social media, and the progress of related programs, fundraisers and initiatives. • Cultivated and built relationships with industry partners, vendors, donors, sponsors, funders, and venues. • Successfully secured more than $45,000 in city funding from the Department of Cultural Affairs to support arts education programming.

Shatter the Looking Glass is a unique online magazine focusing on ethical travel. Striving to not only foster cultural awareness, the ground breaking publication spotlights the complexities of crossing boarders and the implications for us and the communities we visit. In line with their mission, Shatter the Looking Glass aims to break our received views of the world and focus on the stories, the challenges, and the ethics of travel. • Fact checked sources and content prior to publication to ensure accuracy. • Authored, edited and published articles on ethical volunteering. • Conducted media-monitoring, investigating trends and current events related to volunteering and the international community. • Collaborated with editors to provide accurate, engaging, and timely information.

• Compiled legislative research and academic analysis for proposed bill on gun control. • Carried out general office duties including correspondence and constituent relations. • Tracked legislative issues on topics such as gun control and healthcare. • Resolved constituent concerns and issues related to veteran services. • Executed Operation Santa event, giving holiday gifts to children in foster care.

The mission of the Nigerian Healthcare Foundation is to combat the deterioration of Nigeria due to obstacles such as poverty, hunger, and disease. NHF works tirelessly towards ameliorating detrimental health conditions in rural Nigeria where access to basics such as healthcare, education, and proper hygiene options are limited or severely restricted. • Spearheaded outreach, social media, and strategic planning for the Nigeria Smiles Campaign. • Created and maintained mission informational pamphlets. • Coordinated off site recruitment events. • Organized research to highlight the urgency of healthcare issues in Nigeria. • Created the online mission application for prospective volunteers. • Recruited applicants through social media channels and events. • Developed content for volunteer surveys, applications, and questionnaires to determine placement on medical mission trip. • Organized volunteer engagement program by recruiting volunteers through events and social media.

Founded in 1985, Licensing International is where the worldwide licensing industry connects! At the epicenter of global licensing, their mission is to not only foster the expansion of licensing around the world, but also elevate the level of professionalism for licensing practitioners. With members in over 35 countries, Licensing International strives to generate and promote a greater awareness of the benefits of licensing to the business community. • Conducted on-line trade show research involving potential attendees. • Maintained and updated member data bases. • Carried out general office duties including correspondence and data entry.