Sara Newell

PRESIDENT AND CEO

In her early career Sara worked as a grants manager and fundraiser for United Cerebral Palsy in Los Angeles and New York City. In 2006, she returned to Birmingham to join United Way of Central Alabama to run United Way’s agency relations and campaign allocations. In that capacity, she oversaw the distribution of approximately $28 million each year. She was later promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of Community Impact. During her time at UWCA, she successfully distributed more than $270 million to worthwhile organizations and causes in Central Alabama. Sara was recognized in 2018 as a “Top Influencer Under 40” by Birmingham magazine and has served on the Boards of Directors for the Alabama Association of Nonprofits, Hands On Birmingham, and is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham. She currently serves on the board of the Birmingham Promise. In 2019, she was recognized as a member of “Who’s Next? The Future Generation of Local Women Leading the Way” and as a “Trailblazer” (2022) by About Town magazine.

Sara received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Samford University and a Master of Public Administration from The University of Alabama at Birmingham where she was a Department of Housing and Urban Development fellow. She is married to Van Newell, and they have two young sons, Gideon and Isaac. Her favorite days are those she gets to spend with The Exceptional Foundation’s participants, especially when they teach her new dance moves.

Ginny Bastar

Vice President of Operations and Programs

Ginny was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Her passion for people with special needs led her to begin volunteering at The Exceptional Foundation at the age of 15.  In the summer of 2001, she was hired to work for The Foundation’s summer camp and continued to work part-time after school throughout the remainder of her high school years. Ginny enrolled at The University of Alabama after high school graduation but returned each summer to work at The Exceptional Foundation. After completing her bachelor of science degree in Collaborative Special Education in 2006, Ginny was hired to work full-time at The Exceptional Foundation coordinating daily participant activities. Ginny currently holds the position of Vice President of Operations. 

In August 2008, Ginny married high school sweetheart, John Bastar, who proposed at The Exceptional Foundation in front of a crowd of cheering participants. They now have a daughter, Mary Patton, who was born in 2011 and a son, Charlie, born in 2015.

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