OARacle Newsletter

OAR is pleased to announce that Sean Flynn has been promoted to fundraising and special events director, and Sarah Culver has been promoted to RUN FOR AUTISM director.  

Flynn, who took on his new position in January, was the RUN FOR AUTISM director for six years. His new role, he says, is a great opportunity to “reach new potential OAR supporters through online and digital first platforms. I’m looking forward to building out new and expanding on existing programs for OAR, including social media giving, streaming programs to include all types of content creators, and launching a signature event for OAR.” In addition, Flynn’s new role encompasses leading peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns in traditional and digital-first methods and managing and growing grassroots fundraising efforts. 

What Flynn loves best about his work are the OAR supporters he gets to interact with. “The passion they have about how OAR has made a difference in their lives or the lives of a loved ones motivates me every day,” he says. 

He wouldn’t be doing what he does best if he didn’t also note that supporting OAR is easy. If you aren’t sure where to start, get in touch with Flynn, and he will happily help you out.  

Sarah Culver stepped up as the new RUN FOR AUTISM director in January, having served as the RUN senior coordinator previously. She came to OAR in 2017 as a RUN coordinator. “The RUN FOR AUTISM program creates bonds between runners from all over the world who share similar goals to run, support the autism community, and raise money for OAR,” she says. “It is an honor to be a part of those bonds supporting OAR and the autism community.” 

As the RUN director, Culver oversees day-to-day operations of the RUN FOR AUTISM program including all fundraising, runner recruitment and management, marketing/communications, race relationships and contracts, race weekend events, and the Active for Autism 5K & Kids Dash. She also implements ways to expand and improve the RUN FOR AUTISM program and supervises the work of two RUN coordinators. 

After six years with OAR, Culver says, she still gets excited about RUN events because of the OAR team members, friends, and families she gets to meet. “There’s nothing better than experiencing the race weekend excitement with them, putting that OAR medal around their neck, and seeing that post-race smile on their face.”