Please join us for lunch!

For our meeting Monday, January 12th, 2026, we welcome 
Sara S. Fawcett 
President and Chief Executive Officer, United Way of the Midlands (Columbia, South Carolina) 

Cynthia Davis Senior Vice President of Commerce of Sustain SC

Sara S. Fawcett has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of United Way of the Midlands in Columbia, South Carolina since June 2017.

Before joining the team at United Way, Sara served as Vice President of Human Resources for EDENS Investment Trust for more than 12 years. In her role, Sara provided executive HR leadership to one of the largest privately-held commercial real estate development companies in the United States, supporting 265 employees in 10 offices nationally. During her time there, she led recruiting and onboarding processes as the company grew by 51 percent over 10 years.

Sara began her career with Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo), where she spent 14 years. She served in a variety of banking and human resources roles, including in the corporate banking, insurance and wealth management divisions of the company.

Prior to coming on board as CEO, Sara was a long-time volunteer and supporter of United Way of the Midlands, including membership on the Board of Directors, Co-chair of the Campaign Committee, Chair of the Community Impact Committee and Chair of the Financial Stability Council.

In 2020, United Way of the Midlands received a $10 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. It is believed to be the largest unrestricted gift in our community’s history. Under Sara’s leadership, United Way has embarked on a mission to leverage the Scott gift to create affordable housing, improve workforce development and create community change that will last for generations. Already, United Way has leveraged $4.1 million of the Scott gift to create $44 million in project value for more than 408 units of affordable housing, created Young Men United to promote workforce development and built capacity within United Way and our impact partners.

Sara has earned several awards, including being honored as one of Columbia Regional Business Report’s Women of Influence on multiple occasions. She was also recognized as an “Icon” as part of the 2021 Columbia Regional Business Report’s Icons and Phenoms list, and was named one of 2023’s 50 Most Influential by CRBR. In 2023, Sara received the Richard Allen Award for community impact from Allen University, and in 2024, Sara was awarded the Ethel M. Bolden Community Service Award by the Columbia Urban League.

Sara represents United Way of the Midlands on several boards, including the United Way Association of SC, Central Carolina Community Foundation and the SC Technical College System Foundation.

Sara holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She has three children: Maddie, Ben and Jon Jon.