Executive Team Member Spotlight — Maria Harmer
Name: Maria Harmer
Title: SVP, Creative Operations & Strategy
Maria joined Fuse in early 2024, bringing over 20 years of fundraising agency experience in creative development and creative operations. She’s served nonprofits in nearly every sector — from human services to international relief to children’s hospitals and cancer centers, and numerous others in-between. Starting out her career as a writer, and working her way through to Creative Director roles gave her a well-rounded understanding of the blend of innovative thinking and detail orientation that underpins and supports successful creative teams to drive results-oriented, cross-channel campaigns.
Getting to Know Maria:
1. Q: How do you like to spend your free time away from the wonderful world of direct response?
A: I enjoy going on “catch-up” walks with good friends, gardening, reading, visiting museums, seeing live music and theater, weekend road trips, and binge-watching all the great TV series I haven’t gotten to yet.
2. Q: Tell us about a favorite campaign that you’ve worked on.
A: A multi-channel campaign for an academic medical institution’s foundation which offered donors the opportunity to make a gift to fuel cancer research, and also to send a message of encouragement to a patient currently going through cancer treatment. Many messages of hope and care were sent in and shared with people who needed the pick-me-up at a trying time in their lives.
3. Q: What do you think is in store for our industry in the future?
A: A need to align data and information across all sources to provide an even better picture of donors. This will lead to more personal experiences, with communications and engagement opportunities that lets a donor know we know who they are as an individual, why they give, and what matters to them.
4. Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A:To control time — to be able to give myself and other people the ability to spend more time basking in the important moments of life and to speed up time to get through the tough patches faster.
5. Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A:TV news reporter
6. Q: If you had to choose a different career path, what would it be?
A: Probably something that’s involved with helping others in an even more hands-on way, like a social worker, counselor, nurse, or teacher.
7. Q: What would be your entrance song?
A: “This Girl Is On Fire” by Alicia Keys
8. Q: If you were a brand, what would your slogan be?
A: Stay positive. Be kind. Never stop learning.
9. Q: Fill in the blank: The quickest way to my heart is _____________.
A: An act of service. (Also, good chocolate!)