Sally Takada - Founder & Consultant

Sally Takada has secured millions of dollars in contributed revenue for higher education and the arts by building and deepening meaningful relationships between organizations, philanthropists, and change-makers over the past fifteen+ years. She is passionate about the advancement of the arts, culture, and education through strategic, thoughtful, and creative methods. Sally has cultivated an extensive professional background in mission-driven advancement through leadership posts in arts administration, higher education, fundraising, marketing, and communications. An accomplished former professional cellist, Sally also credits her rigorous musical training at top conservatories with building her resilience, grit, determination and drive.

Sally is an advancement officer for Oberlin College and Conservatory and serves on the board of directors of Oberlin Center for the Arts. She was the first development director for Music@Menlo, an internationally acclaimed chamber music festival and institute based in the Silicon Valley of California. A critical member of Music@Menlo’s senior management team, Sally was a key strategist during the remarkable start-up and growth phase of this innovative, world-class organization. Additionally, Sally has held lead development posts at Indiana University and University of Illinois. She was also the founding executive director of DoCha, a chamber music festival in Champaign, IL that is exploring new ways to create meaningful, free chamber music experiences for communities in the 21st century.

Sally also has experience creating custom data management solutions for performing arts organizations and companies in the for-profit finance/investment sector focused on integrated marketing, fundraising, patron/investor relations, and ticket sales data analysis for making strategic management decisions. Her solutions focused on robust reporting features, custom communications features, and attention to best workflow practices and principles. 

Also an accomplished cellist, Sally has a Master’s degree in cello performance from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor’s degree from Barnard College of Columbia University in economics and music. A native Northern Californian, Sally now lives in Oberlin, OH with her husband, violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson and their two young children.