Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Catherine served as Co-founder and Executive Director of The Sprout Fund for over two decades. Under her leadership, Sprout worked with regional and national philanthropic partners to make more than $7 million of community-decided investments in 1,100+ early-stage projects, organizations, innovators, and activities. Catherine's passion for philanthropy and empowering women also inspired her creation of The Salon, which she founded in 2020 with the desire to create a new space for the city’s brillant women to gather, collaborate, and grow.

In addition to her work with Sprout and The Salon, Catherine has contributed her expertise to a variety of Pittsburgh’s civic and cultural organizations. She has served on the Board of Trustees of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and has formerly served on the boards of The Ellis School, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

Upon receiving the award, Catherine reflected on the importance of the strong friendships she made and valuable lessons she learned during her time at Ellis.

"When I think about what has contributed to my circuitous path through life, some of the core values and attributes that have guided me are ones I found here at Ellis: a love of learning, finding my own voice, following my own path, and taking chances," Catherine remarked. "I think that Ellis is such an important place in our community, and I'm so grateful both for my time here as a student and for the opportunity to provide leadership as a member of the Ellis Board."