St. Louis, Missouri, October 15, 2021 - Sara Miller, President and Founder of SODA: Student Organ Donation Advocates, is recognized for her life-saving impact as a 2021 Aerie Real Changemaker
Aerie, an American Eagle-owned lifestyle brand, launched the #AerieREAL Changemaker initiative in 2020. This initiative aims to inspire and encourage young women to step up and make the world a better place through leadership, advocacy, and philanthropic partnerships. This year, twenty-three women have won $20,000 from the brand and coaching on public relations, marketing strategies, budgeting, and impact reporting.
The $20,000 grant awarded to SODA will be used to provide its student leaders with mentorship, event grants, supplies, written guides, and more to successfully educate their peers about organ and tissue donation and register them as organ and tissue donors. Since Sara founded the organization in 2014, SODA’s student leaders have educated over 12,000 people about organ and tissue donation and registered over 1,300 as organ donors, reducing the organ shortage.
As SODA’s President and Founder, she aids in the development of the organization's strategy and the formation of community partnerships. She also helps SODA with fundraising to ensure the organization's long-term viability.
Sara was raised in Milwaukee, WI and attended Nicolet High School. She then attended Washington University in St. Louis and majored in Healthcare Management and Psychology. Now, she works full-time as a Senior Operations Analyst at Optum in Denver, Colorado.