Sarah Cathrae ( She/Her )

Bachelor of Humanities, Manager Finance & Admin

B.Hum Graduate 2001

What was your experience like in the program and how has your degree helped your career?

When I applied to the College of Humanities in 1997, I could not have anticipated how formative the experience would be. The program shaped not only how I think, but how I work: it demanded clarity, intellectual discipline, and critical engagement with complex ideas across history, philosophy, literature, and the arts. Those habits continue to inform how I structure ideas, solve problems, and communicate professionally.

That foundation carried me through an unusually broad range of roles: managing operations for an arcade, banquet hall, and marina; working in facilities management with the Canadian Space Agency; and later working in finance on Bay Street with Credit Suisse and advising Fortune 500 companies at Cushman & Wakefield. I eventually moved into leadership in private equity, where I raised more than $500 million in equity and debt financing and led the development and operation of seniors’ housing communities across Canada and the United States.

Across those roles, the constant was the ability to learn quickly, adapt across sectors, and bring structure to complexity.

Over time, those experiences also reshaped my understanding of impact and purpose, leading me toward more explicitly mission-driven work. Today, I serve as Manager of Finance and Administration at St. Joseph’s Villa Foundation in Dundas, supporting long-term care and hospice services through financial stewardship, governance, and operational leadership. In parallel, I continue to advise nonprofits, foundations, and family offices on capital strategy, governance, and development projects focused on community impact.

Looking back, the most important outcome of my Humanities degree was not a single career path, but the capacity to move across many — and ultimately to find work aligned with service, care, and community.