Sarah Persily joined Compass Pro Bono in 2026 as founding Managing Director of the New York program. Her career spans the nonprofit and corporate sectors, including community and volunteer partnerships, philanthropy, and law.
As Head of Community Impact at Visa, Sarah managed a team engaging employees and supporting communities globally through philanthropy and volunteerism. She helped to launch and scale the foundation as Program Director of Gerstner Philanthropies, designing and driving strategy and executing grantmaking programs. As a Program Officer at Tiger Foundation, Sarah advised its board of hedge fund leaders and supported nonprofits working to break the cycle of poverty in NYC.
Sarah’s pro bono experience began as Senior Staff Attorney at the Pro Bono Partnership, part of a team providing free business legal services to nonprofits across the tri-state area directly and in partnership with corporate and law firm volunteers.
Previously, Sarah practiced corporate law at IBM and Proskauer and raised funds for The New York Public Library.
She holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with friends and family (husband, son, daughter, labradoodle), traveling, yoga, and anything chocolate peanut butter.