Background: Founded in 1990 by Catlin Donnelly, E. Catlin Donnelly & Associates (ECDA) has built an extensive record of empowering organizations to develop strategies and plans that facilitate understanding and change, whether the need is for expansion, reorganization, succession planning, consolidation, or performance improvements. Catlin partners with other independent consultants with whom she has long-term collaborative relationships, and who bring complementary expertise and a passion for our clients’ missions. We work with a diverse range of organizations spanning the health care, social services, academic, philanthropy and government sectors.
We provide both organizational consulting and executive search services; often combining aspects of both as we partner with our clients through an engagement. In the search arena, our strength is in matching candidates’ skills and experience with an organization’s current and future leadership needs and culture, leading to a track record of successful long-term placements. We have trusting, long-standing relationships with many of our clients, and are known for skillful coaching and advising of boards and senior leadership around a variety of organizational issues. Word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business attest to the high quality of our work.
Team
Catlin Donnelly
Prior to founding ECDA, Catlin spent 16 years in both hands-on and leadership positions in community-based non-profits and state government. Early in her career she served in advocacy and program development roles, including starting programs in communities in England, Minnesota and New York, related to education and other services for children with special needs and their families. She has served on many Boards of Directors, grant review panels, and committees for not-for-profit organizations, including serving as Chair of the Governor’s Commission on Employment of the Handicapped. In addition, she is a frequent invited speaker at local colleges and universities.
Catlin is a skilled facilitator with a keen ability to listen, to assess complicated organizational issues, and to develop strategies to overcome those challenges. She brings expertise in organizational and community dynamics, change management, strategic planning, and recruiting exceptional talent to best position an organization for the future.
Catlin earned a BA in Psychology from Hollins University and a Master of Social Work from Tulane. She has participated in the Senior Managers in State Government Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. For more information about Catlin, see her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/pub/catlin-donnelly
Janet Baker
Janet Baker has more than 20 years experience in helping organizations to manage change. Whether as a senior manager, small business owner or management consultant to non-profit organizations, Janet excels at researching effective practices that can add insight into solving client’s challenges and putting in place processes that help to solve complex problems. As a management consultant, her past clients include large health care organizations, colleges and universities, independent schools and community-based not-for-profits. She has been an integral part of teams developing organization-wide strategic plans, diversity and inclusion strategic plans, recruiting for senior level non-profit positions, and undertaking organization redesign projects. Prior to consulting, Janet served in progressively responsible public sector positions including Deputy Administrative Manager of a large public works project, where she oversaw job training programs for women, minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals. Janet holds a BA from Connecticut College and an MBA from Simmons School of Management.
Erica Beade
Erica Beade provides administrative, editorial and research support on all consulting engagements. She has 13 years of experience providing administrative and logistical support to senior faculty and research groups for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and MIT. At HHMI/MIT, she was responsible for the smooth running of faculty offices and laboratories, served as a liaison between faculty, technical staff and students, and coordinated federal grant applications. Erica also has extensive experience as a scientific illustrator and educator. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University.
Walter Holmes
Walter Holmes, Senior Associate and Engagement Director, is a management consultant specializing in organizational development, executive search, human resources, operational analysis, facilities management and coaching. His clients include many universities and public institutions. Walter has broad senior management experience, having served as Vice President for Administration at Brown University, Deputy General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and Deputy Commissioner at the MA Department of Public Welfare. Walter earned his MPA at Suffolk University’s Graduate School of Management and has a BS from Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration.
Jinevra Howard
Jinevra Howard has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of City Planning from the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT. She has been working with E. Catlin Donnelly & Associates since 2008. Jinevra also provides recruitment support for Taproot Foundation, which engages professionals in pro bono service projects for local nonprofits. Previously, through her work with Economic Development Research Group, she has provided analytic and communications support for clients including the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Lincoln Center, Logan Airport, and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce. Jinevra also worked for Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a nonprofit research and consulting firm dedicated to stimulating private sector investment in U.S. inner cities, and in administrative roles for the Harvard School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.
Mary Kay Leonard
Mary Kay Leonard is a seasoned leader with more than 30 years of strategic and operational experience in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She has served as an executive, board member, advisor and consultant to dozens of organization, bringing a data-driven, collaborative and results-focused approach to her work. Mary Kay has developed a particular expertise in leading and supporting merging organizations. She served as a key executive with two different mergers–one a merger of two for-profit companies and the other an alliance between a nonprofit and a for-profit organization, the implementation of which was supported by a grant from the Catalyst Fund. She recently provided integration support to a newly merged arts organization which was also funded by the Catalyst Fund. She is now serving on a joint board merger committee for two nonprofits considering a merger.
Jane O’Hern
Jane O’Hern received her Masters in Management from the Heller School at Brandeis University, and has held a series of senior management positions in both the public and private sectors. She began her career providing education services to persons with developmental disabilities. She has worked extensively with Partners HealthCare, first as a consultant and then as an employee, serving as their Administrative Director for Scientific Programs. More recently, she has provided policy and financial analysis in support of transportation financing advocacy. With more than fifteen years of experience consulting with a wide range of clients, Ms. O’Hern provides support in the area of financial planning, budgeting, and program evaluation.
Dorrie Pizzella
Dorrie Pizzella Dorrie has had a thirty-year career in environmental advocacy, education, conservation, and stewardship serving in various non-profit and public sector leadership roles. She recently served as Chief of Staff at the MA Department of Agriculture and earlier was Director of Grants and Technical Assistance at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, helping to manage and coordinate the agency’s conservation, recreation, and water resource protection grant programs. Dorrie came to EEA from the New England office of the Trust for Public Land, where she served as executive director of the statewide Community Preservation Coalition. Between 1982 and 1993, Dorrie served in various capacities within the state Executive Office of Transportation and Construction under the Administration of Governor Michael S. Dukakis. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a B.A. from Wellesley College.
Lyn Rosoff
Lyn Rosoff is an advertising and marketing professional, providing marketing and strategic communications training and coaching services to help clients effectively define their brands and communicate clearly in a cluttered and crowded marketplace. Past clients have included CATCH Neighborhood Housing, SmartPower, World Team Sports, the John Merck Fund, and the Clean Energy States Alliance. Lyn worked for 18 years at Arnold Worldwide, where she served as Senior Vice President with clients including Blue Cross Blue Shield and the United Way. Lyn also provides executive coaching and workshops to improve communication and team-building. She has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Greater Boston Food Bank, and as Vice President of the Board of Directors of United Way of the Greater Seacoast, among other involvements.
Beth Wald
Beth Wald, Senior Associate, has over 20 years of leadership, management and consulting experience in the private and public sectors. She has spent her career working for and contributing to organizations that have an underlying mission of making a difference in the lives of others. In addition to leadership and management experience, Beth has expertise in human resources, communications, strategic planning, operations, sales and customer service. She has served as a member of executive leadership teams, been an entrepreneur, run a homeless family shelter program for the City of New York, managed community relations for a state-wide elected offical, led executive seraches for a wide variety of organizations, and advised clients on management practices, organizational structure and staffing. She has a track record of building high performance teams focused on goals, excellence and results, leading and executing complex organization-wide projects and strategic initiatives, and improving organizational capacity and capabilities by enhancing customer service, improving productivity and optimizing resources. Beth has a Master’s in Public Administration from Columbia University and a BA from Hamilton College.