With over 30 years’ experience as a leader and CEO in the nonprofit sector, Cate leverages her education in Public Administration, CMCA, and professional experience to expertly guide clients in matters related to board governance and policy development. In addition, she provides comprehensive strategic planning, board training, and leadership structure services with an emphasis on positive and strengths-based leadership.
She is a compassionate, no-nonsense leader of people and programs, with the business acumen to understand the value of visioning as well as the nuances associated with successful change management. Her broad areas of expertise include community management, nonprofit mergers, board training, strategic planning, cross-functional staff training, and organizational structuring.
For the largest community association in Virginia, Reston Association, Cate managed a five-year, community wide update of the organization’s Governing Documents: deed, articles of incorporation, and bylaws; a $500,000 project. When the amendments were successfully approved by a majority of the Association’s membership of over 21,000, she redrafted the organization’s administrative polices to mirror revisions made to the Governing Documents. In addition, Cate coordinated the Association’s board activities; facilitated development and implementation of governance policies and the Strategic Plan. She advised the board on matters related to strategic planning; board leadership, conduct, role and effectiveness; committee structure; corporate operations; and, CEO performance. Cate also, established and implemented a leadership training program for new board members and committee chairs.
Cate also used her extensive board governance knowledge to assist other non-profit organizations in a similar capacity as a volunteer leader for Leadership Fairfax, Inc. and Public Art Reston. Understanding the growth needs of both organizations, Cate lent her talents in organizing and redrafting the bylaws and committee structures for these organizations, so they could navigate in positive directions.
Cate is a strategic planning trainer for the Community Associations Institute and is in her 23 year of leading an ethics training program for high school seniors in Fairfax County, Virginia; hosted by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce.
Cate is a CMCA, holds a B.A. degree from Washington College and a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University. She is a member of Board Source, the Community Associations Institute, the National Association of Woman Business Owners, and the Business Women’s Giving Circle at the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia.