Catherine A. Lada

Catherine A. Lada, D.Sc., CAE is currently President of Lada Consulting, LLC. Dr. Lada provides marketing and technology consulting services to nonprofits and small businesses after a 20-year stint in nonprofit management. She is located in Alexandria, VA. She holds the Certified Association Executive designation, only held by a small fraction of all nonprofit executives, awarded by ASAE: The Center. She is currently on the board of directors for the Alexandria Jaycees Foundation, and is a member of the ASAE Marketing Professional Advisory Group. She is also a member of the American Marketing Association.

Dr. Lada has successfully launched and grown dozens of new products and services as well as brands, teams, departments, and organizations. Cathy is highly focused on making the member experience enjoyable and profitable as well as efficient across all touchpoints. She combines this focus along with skill in usability design and deep knowledge of marketing to create product road maps and integrated marketing, communications, and sales strategies that get real business results. At her last association, Cathy led the charge in creating, launching, and marketing a new tech product, surpassing key performance indicators from 27% to 58% within a few months. The marketing team she launched at a privately held multi-million-dollar company led to 13% year-over-year growth for three years.

Dr. Lada’s doctoral degree in information systems and communications is from Robert Morris University; her dissertation focused on scaling impact in nonprofits and social enterprises. Her master’s in administration is from Central Michigan University, and her bachelor of arts in economics is from the University of Detroit Mercy. Dr. Lada won the Economics Award and a partial scholarship to study at Oxford University for a summer, in addition to winning a full-ride scholarship to the University of Detroit.