Sarah Pearson has been in the advancement profession since 1980. She is currently the vice president for college advancement at Bates College.

Previously, she served as the chief development officer for the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she was responsible for fundraising for one of the world's leading biomedical research institutes. Prior to her arrival at the Broad, Pearson served as vice president for alumni relations and development at Northwestern University. There she managed a team of 175 staff, servicing six undergraduate schools, the graduate school programs, a Big Ten athletics organization, and the university's museum and library.

Pearson began her development career in 1980 at Harvard University. She then served as director of the Cornell Fund during Cornell's $1.5 billion campaign. Moving on to the University of Chicago, she served as associate vice president of development and alumni relations and campaign director during the launch of the university's successful $2.3 billion campaign.

Pearson served as a member of the CASE Board of Trustees and as chair of the Philanthropy Commission. She was a faculty member and then served as chair of the CASE Summer Institute on Educational Fundraising. She served as chair of the 2007 CASE Summit for Advancement Leaders, as conference chair for the CASE conference on campaign strategies, and as a member of the faculty for nurturing major gift fundraising. She received the CASE Crystal Apple for teaching excellence in 2008.

Pearson received her bachelor's degree from Bates College and her master's of fine arts degree in theater arts from Brandeis University.