Welcome back to Coffee Break, a Greenspace Series where we dive deep with one of our team members to uncover their personal stories, perspectives, and new ideas—or maybe even learn about some of their hidden talents that we never knew about.
Sarah Adams is our Director of Customer Success at Greenspace, having been one of the first Customer Success Managers to join Greenspace more than four years ago, alongside Carly Pointet. She’s had the unique experience of watching the Customer Success team—and Greenspace in general—grow exponentially since the time she started.
From Telling A Story To Being A Part of It
Her road to Greenspace was a long and winding one. Sarah’s career started in marketing, after earning her undergraduate degree in Communications from York University. She tried her hand in agency life and later took a swing at public relations with a post-grad program at Humber College. But something wasn’t clicking.
“For me, it was really cool to tell the story through PR, but I also wanted to be part of the story and work in one of these organizations that are making decisions and doing cool things.”
She worked in Marketing at TD Bank for some time but left in search of a smaller team and more responsibility:
“TD is basically like a small country, just with the amount of people that they employ. I wanted to be able to go somewhere where I could have a bigger impact.”
That theme—impact—is central to Sarah’s story. It’s guided every big decision she’s made, from her career moves to personal projects (more about that in a second). She credits her mom, a high school teacher, and Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming as foundational inspirations:
“My mom was a high school teacher before she retired, and I was always inspired by her ability to change people’s lives during a really pivotal moment in time.”
A New Chapter: Greenspace, Motherhood, and Finding Her Voice
Sarah joined Greenspace during the earliest days of COVID—just a month before she found out she was pregnant with her first child.
“That was a really fun conversation that Jeremy and I had to have—it was awesome honestly, he was great. This company is amazing when it comes to family and work-life balance. Especially because Jeremy had just had his second child and Simon (Greenspace’s President) was having his first around the same time. It was such an incredible experience to find somewhere that is as family-oriented as you are.”
Since then, Sarah has grown alongside Greenspace—not just professionally, but personally. She’s now a mom (soon-to-be mom of two), and in the final stretch of completing her MBA through McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. The program is part-time, with in-person weekends once a month over three years. Her second baby is—very intentionally—due just after she walks the stage.
As she continues to balance her purposeful work at Greenspace, the journey of motherhood, and a deep commitment to lifelong learning, it’s clear that Sarah’s path has always been rooted in resilience.
That same strength came into focus nearly a decade ago, when Sarah was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called alopecia, which causes you to lose your hair. Tackling this medical condition came with a change in perspective; it was instrumental to how Sarah views the world and how she’s able to overcome challenges. It also served to fuel her desire to help others, to have an impact on the world and to strive for more, regardless of what she might be facing.
“It was a journey for me to go through—figuring out how to deal with not only a medical condition and an issue that like very much influenced the way that I thought of myself, my perspective on life and everything, but also figuring out how can I help other people find the same acceptance that I did?”
The answer was a podcast called the Alopecia Project, which Sarah both ran and produced herself for over 3 years. She interviewed incredible and accomplished guests who have had alopecia, like a female author who writes children’s literature about people with the condition, a newscaster, and quite notably, Anthony Carrigan, Emmy award winning actor from the show ‘Barry’ who was once told to quit acting because of his alopecia.
“This was the perfect way for me to find balance between telling the story of others, but doing so in an impactful way that would allow me to really leave a positive mark on others and help them through their own journey.”
While her work on the podcast has now wrapped, Sarah continues to find small but meaningful ways to make an impact in her busy life today. Her decision to work at Greenspace and choosing an MBA program related to healthcare are evidence of that. But, she also takes smaller actions, like being intentional with her time:
“I think one of the lessons that I have learned over the last 3 years, is that time is limited. I want to be able to make an impact where I am and on who I’m with at that very moment in time. If 5 years from now you were to ask me what I learned from my MBA, I don’t know that I could name like a specific topic from a specific course. But, I could tell you that I’ve learned the value of being present and in the moment with those around you while you can.”
Her role at Greenspace today offers her a unique opportunity to have an impact on others and to write the story in her day to day life:
“I didn’t know customer success existed until like 5 or 6 years ago, but since falling into it, I can’t see myself not being part of this world. I get to talk to so many different people to listen to their stories, to try and help them—that is my job every single day.”
