Gem Spotlight - Marietta Asaad at Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation
Marietta began her Senior Philanthropy Manager role at Peter Mac in the middle of this year. Below she talks about her journey into the ‘for purpose’ sector, her love for connecting people to cause, achieving positive impact and her formative first job in face-to-face fundraising.
Marietta is the Senior Philanthropy Manager at Peter Mac
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m from England, and I did the classic backpacker trope where I was ‘only going to be in Australia for 1 year’. 9 years later, I’m still here!
I started my professional career as a face-to-face fundraiser straight out of university, and in my subsequent years in the corporate sector, I always yearned to get back into the not-for-profit space. I successfully made the transition, and never looked back.
What are you passionate about?
I am very passionate about connecting with people – learning their stories, their connections to the cause, building strong and (often) fun relationships where we are coming together to achieve some real positive impact in the world.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I’ve started delving back into using my free time to be more creative. I’ve joined a choir and done a few gigs. We are singing Christmas carols and songs at the Fitzroy Christmas Markets soon, which is definitely been on a bucket list of mine!
Where is your favourite or dream holiday destination?
Next on my list is to go on safari in South Africa or Tanzania – I want to see the big 5 in the flesh!
What is your favourite movie, TV show or book?
Sister Act 2 of course; singing nuns and Whoopi Goldberg…could you ask for more?
If you could invite 3 guests to dinner, who would they be?
Piggy backing from my last answer, Whoopi has to be there for comedic value, it would be so interesting to hear from Nelson Mandella, and Bob the Drag Queen to bring the sass.
What did you dream of being when you were a child?
My parents are doctors, so I wanted to be a doctor by day (follow the family business) and ballerina at night of course.
What was your very first job?
I was a face-to-face fundraiser in the cold cold weather in England. I did streets, door to door and shopping centres. To this day, I thank this first job for the drive and motivation I currently have.
What’s the best thing about your current role?
Working at Australia’s only comprehensive cancer centre means that the donors I speak to often have a very personal connection to cancer, be it experiencing their own cancer journey or someone they love having experienced it.
With that context, it makes it extra special for me to build true relationships with donors where I have the honour of connecting them with our research, which is often quite aspirational and world leading. I love being able to work with our donors to find the projects that truly inspire them, especially as they have a vested interest in the advancement of better cancer treatment and care. There’s no better feeling than reporting back and seeing how amazed our donors are at the calibre of the research and clinical work being carried out here, all thanks to their support.
Your profession can be hard. How do you stay focused, motivated, and driven?
I just remember what I’m doing it all for. Working directly in the hospital makes it a little easier for me to be able to zoom out and really connect to cause as the ‘why’ is all around me. If I’ve had a particularly difficult day or conversation, I just take a walk through Peter Mac’s beautiful building full of clinicians, researchers, and patients alike, and I remember why the advancement of cancer research and clinical care is so important; and I push through.
What motivated you to move into or start in the “for purpose” sector?
It sounds cheesy, but I wanted what I was doing on a day-to-day basis to really mean something and contribute to the greater good. I worked in recruitment for a long time, and so making the transition into corporate partnerships from that base made sense as I had a lot of transferrable skills. Utilising my relationship management skills to build strategic donor relationships and partnerships was a no-brainer for me.
What is the best career advice you’ve received? / What is the key career advice you give to others?
Stop and listen! Be comfortable in the silence, actively listen and don’t interrupt; the true answers are often not the first ones stated.
What is another profession that you think would be cool to work in, but probably never would?
I’ve always wanted to work in the arts as a professional actress and singer, but I don’t think my poor little sensitive heart could take all the rejection.
Thanks so much for sharing, Marietta!