This year's Ann Castle Award was presented to Sarah Fernandez of MIT. Sarah has worked at MIT since 1998 and in her current position as Director of Research and Prospect Management since 2005. Before joining MIT, she was the Research Coordinator at the Boston Museum of Science, a Research Analyst at Harvard University and the Coordinator of Research Services at UC Berkeley. Fernandez has a master's degree in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a bachelor's degree in history from Grinnell College.Sarah was one of the organizers of NEDRA and a member of the first Board of Directors in 1987. She served as NEDRA’s treasurer from 1988 to 1990.

Following is the text of Sarah's speech, for those who didn't manage to catch it at the conference.

"Thank you all very much; I'm really honored to receive the Ann Castle award. Thank you to the nominator and the nomination committee for choosing me.

"I didn't know Ann Castle; she became the director of research at Harvard in 1989, several years after I left Harvard to become the researcher at the Museum of Science. So, I did a little research on her to seek inspiration for this speech. What struck me about her career in prospect research was that she found a particular niche that she loved and ended up devoting much of her time to - the study of women in philanthropy. And the reason I like that is that it highlights what's so great about this profession of prospect research - there are so many avenues to explore and become an expert in.

"Beyond being a one-person shop for a small non-profit organization, or working for a hospital, university, or cultural organization, there are so many other ways you can carve out a niche, teach yourself a skill that is rewarding and extremely helpful to your organization.

"You can specialize in international research, learning the resources available and the culture of philanthropy in the countries your prospects live in.

"Or you can specialize in evaluating wealth and learn about the stock market, private company valuation, and hot industries throughout the country and the world.

"Or, you can explore data analytics and learn statistics and decipher patterns in giving behavior.

"You can develop your management skills and lead a research unit in new directions to best serve your organization.

"Or you can explore prospect management and track the flow of prospects through the cultivation cycle and assist the fundraisers in focusing on the best prospects and coding those prospects who are not worth spending time on.

"That's one of the things I love most about our profession - we've been able to shape it ourselves, and explore new ways we can be most helpful to our organizations.

"So many of you have already developed your own areas of expertise and have been so generous in sharing your work with the rest of us. I thank you very much for that. For people new to the profession, I encourage you to be creative, find that niche that best suits your interests and skills while serving the needs of your institution and our profession.

"Thank you, again, for honoring me with the Ann Castle award."