Vice President ESG and Social Impact, Meridian Credit Union
Sarah Saso is Vice President of ESG and Social Impact at Meridian Credit Union. Sarah is a certified Corporate Social Responsibility Professional (CSR-P) with extensive experience in CSR and Community Investment having worked at HSBC, CIBC, Manulife Financial, and Green Shield Canada. Sarah has developed social impact investment programs and reported on ESG matters, including environmental impact, social responsibility, diversity, equity, inclusion, and governance practices.
Recently, Sarah earned a certification from Stanford University - Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion for Organizational Excellence and completed Board Oversight of Climate Change through the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).
Sarah has expertise in ESG, Social Impact, Impact Investing, Inclusion, Sponsorship, social media, Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, and Event Management. She has initiated cross-sector collaborations on health and social issues, such as Affordable Housing, Healthcare for Seniors, Dental Care for Underinsured Populations, championed Sustainable Food Systems, and supported Economically Barriered Individuals to access a career in Skilled Trades.
As the former Director of Community Relations at Manulife Financial, Sarah demonstrated the business benefits of employee-supported volunteerism through an evidence-based study. This work led to her being invited to share her research and knowledge with the United Nations Volunteers organization and she was featured in the UN’s State of the World Volunteers report in 2011.
Sarah is a lifelong volunteer and has been actively involved in various charitable boards and sector committees, including Philanthropic Foundations Canada, the Conference Board of Canada’s Community Investment Council, The Association of Corporate Grantmakers, Social Impact Professionals Canada, Imagine Canada’s Corporate Advisory Group, Volunteer Canada’s Corporate Council, Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada and she served on the Investment Readiness Granting Committee at the Community Foundation of Bruce Grey.
Since 2022, Sarah co-created and has co-hosted the webinar series Conversations on Purpose, which focuses on a broad range of topics that ESG and Social Impact professionals encounter as they discover their purpose both professionally and personally. Each episode dives into subject matter that professionals wish to learn more about, aiming to inspire participants to move forward on a more purpose-led path.
Sarah has been featured in numerous publications and has spoken at various conferences on topics related to volunteering, corporate social responsibility, sponsorship, impact investing, ESG, and volunteerism.
In 2025, Sarah will Co-Chair the Women Supporting Women fundraising campaign for Hope House at St. Felix Centre in Toronto, a supportive housing project for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
