Having accrued two decades of experience in marketing and events, Erin Marie Cave is highly regarded in her industry for her skill, precision and passion. To prepare for her vocation, she studied at Kansas State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration and marketing.
Since 2020, Ms. Cave has excelled as the director of corporate social responsibility for Thornburg Investment Management, an asset management firm headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As an expert in community partnerships, philanthropy, diversity, equity, and inclusion, she is responsible for representing the company in the areas of environment and sustainability; diversity, equity, and inclusion; philanthropy and volunteerism; governance; and sustainable investing. Ms. Cave also manages various programs that coincide with corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, she serves as the co-chair of Thornburg’s Women of Thornburg and is a member of the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
In the earlier years of her career, Ms. Cave worked in events management for several companies. Between 2010 and 2018, she served Salient in San Francisco and Houston in multiple roles, including events manager and director of events and corporate social responsibility. During this time, she also directed community partnerships and volunteerism for the firm, with specific coordination around Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Houston. During this time, she found that she quite enjoyed working with and communicating with people.
To add to her prior feats, Ms. Cave was an events manager for Venture2 Hospitality, now known as Seattle Hospitality Worldwide, LLC, from 2008 to 2010, managing events for Microsoft, Nintendo and Ericsson. From 2006 to 2008, she worked as a special events coordinator in the nonprofit sector, focusing on community partnerships and events for the Morton Arboretum in the greater Chicago area. She had also been an event specialist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch/LaSalle Bank from 2004 to 2006, for which she coordinated sports marketing initiatives, including the Chicago Marathon, the Volvo Ocean Race and other client events.
Dedicated to numerous civic endeavors as well, Ms. Cave has been involved with various local organizations and initiatives, including a nonprofit organization called Girls Inc. of Santa Fe, which was established to help inspire and mentor young girls to be strong, smart and bold. Recently, Ms. Cave sponsored Native Women Lead, an organization that helps Native American women become entrepreneurs. Through this organization, she helped launch the 2022 Fearless Leadership Symposium in Boston with a group of other employees, in which they sponsored several scholarships and travel stipends so that these women could participate.
To add to her community work, Ms. Cave has been a team captain for Cycle for Survival since 2013, a board member and fund development committee member of Reading Quest since 2019 and a member of the diversity, equity, access, and inclusion committee of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum since 2021. Previously, she had been active as a volunteer for Hamilton Families from 2013 to 2017, the North Beach Citizens from 2016 to 2017, Together for Better Days from 2016 to 2017 and the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society from 2011 to 2015. She has also served as a race director for The Arbory in Chicago and was involved in organizing The Together Apart 5K during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of her professional achievements, Ms. Cave was a 2022 recipient of a Women of Influence Award for the state of New Mexico, granted to her by the Albuquerque Business First Journal. She notes this accolade as one of her career highlights. She also received a Five Star Award and a Leo Linbeck Community Service Award from Salient.
Grateful to be able to work for an organization that aligns with some of her core values, Ms. Cave enjoys collaborating with like-minded individuals. She believes that finding a company where the work you care about is also cared about by others is essential, as it allows you to feel supported and opens the door for many more opportunities. Therefore, in five years, Ms. Cave hopes to raise engagement and continue to make progress concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion.
