Happy first day of Spring! We're back with another round of 20 Questions with a new Apra-IL board member!

Up next is Salvatore (Sam) De Sando, who joins the APRA-IL board this year as our new Director of Membership. Sam is the Coordinator, Strategic Giving at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Read on for 20 questions!

1. What is the superpower that you use often at work?

Patience. I can usually see the big picture, the little picture, and I can wait a long time to see them come together in projects.

2. What is one thing Apra has done for you?

Apra has consistently connected me with high quality resources, both helpful documents and great colleagues, for my professional development.

3. If the annual Apra International conference could be anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?

I would like the conference to be in Chicago or Milwaukee, because I do not like traveling anymore. If a conference is not near me then I likely cannot go.

4. How do you explain your role to people outside of Development?

Using public information and proprietary databases, I research, and I write confidential mini resumes on potential donors, to help fundraisers connect donors with organizations or projects that they might value and might not know about.

5. If you were not in Prospect Research, what career would you have?

I would be an archives or library manager, preferably at a college or university.

6. If you could tell your 15-year-old self about your job, what would you say?

There are interesting, paid, work opportunities for people who can do historical research for businesses. The catch is that you do not get to share your work publicly ever; however, the work can be fascinating.

7. Why did you join the Apra-Illinois board?

I wanted to learn more from experienced colleagues in my area, and I wanted to give back to a professional community that has done so much for me already.

8. Why do you think Apra-Illinois and all of the local Apra chapters matter?

Apra-Illinois and other local chapters connect professionals locally in ways that national organizations cannot. It is validating and it is humanizing.

9. What is your #1 productivity tip?

Work proactively, pace yourself, work ahead, and aim to consistently complete work at a sustainable rate based on when you have a bad week.

10. Best advice ever received?

Give yourself grace first.

11. If you wrote a book about prospect development, what would it be called?

Development: Connecting People with Purposes for a Better World

12. If you wrote a memoir on your life, what would it be called?

Processing: a Life in Archives and Research

13. What book are you reading right now?

I am not reading anything at this time. What do you recommend? I would like to know!

14. Currently, what is your favorite restaurant in your city?

Winnetka’s Spirit Elephant is my favorite restaurant close to work.

15. What is your favorite social platform to connect with people?

I prefer LinkedIn for connecting with people for work; I do not use the other platforms anymore.

16. What is the last movie you watched?

I have no idea what I last watched.

17. If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

I would like to meet my great grandparents who settled in the US and my namesake too.

18. What is your hobby?

My hobby is local historical research. I am particularly interested in the history of culture community development in the neighborhoods of Chicago and across Illinois, as well as the period of time when written local history began to replace oral history.

19. Are you a texter or a caller?

I text for short messages; I call for conversations longer than a text.

20. Who or what inspires you?

Writers who master communicating in non-native languages inspire me.