Kate Mead, PMP

Director, Professional Services

“JCA understands that each client’s needs are unique. My colleagues and I use our combined knowledge and problem-solving skills to find the right solution for each client. I love helping our clients define and achieve their vision of success using technology and processes.”

~ Kate Mead

 

Kate Mead brings a wealth of fundraising technology and operations expertise to her client projects at JCA. As a member of JCA’s Leadership team, Kate leads many of the firm’s most complex enterprise Professional Services engagements, projects which include multiple departments and involve various technologies. Her areas of specialty include system needs analysis, business process improvement, and overseeing large-scale CRM implementation projects. Kate has worked with a variety of nonprofits, with a special focus on Higher Education and Healthcare. Clients include Brown University, Vassar College, Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Foundation of Children’s National Medical Center, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.

Before joining JCA, Kate oversaw fundraising systems at organizations such as Junior Achievement and the American Red Cross. Kate holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Evansville. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

 

MORE ABOUT KATE

Where do you work? Where are you from?

I work in northeastern Massachusetts, where I recently relocated. I was born and raised in Philadelphia and always thought of myself as a city girl until Covid happened and we decided we wanted more space and access to nature. Working for a remote-first company allowed me to do that.

What do you do at JCA?

I lead a great team of JCA consultants on projects related to CRM system optimization, system selection, and implementation. Most of our clients are in Higher Education, Healthcare, and Museums. As a member of the Leadership team, I help guide the direction of the company and drive continuous improvement.

What do you do outside of JCA?

When I’m not working, I am either walking my dog, hiking, reading, or knitting. I also love to travel, so I spend a lot of time planning my next trip. The last few trips have taken me to Vietnam, Taiwan, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Belize, Spain, and New Zealand. I look forward to getting back to travel after the Covid pandemic grounded me for a few years.

Kate snorkeling in Belize

Kate sightseeing in Slovenia

What is your background? What brought you to JCA?

I studied theater in college so I made a beeline for New York City after graduation. There I found odd jobs in small theaters and learned about the importance of fundraising. As I grew professionally, I expanded into different nonprofit organizations. One of these organizations assigned me the task of figuring out how to use their donor management software (Raiser’s Edge version 6). I found out that I enjoyed becoming an expert and sharing my knowledge with others. I continued to grow in this line of work, eventually becoming the Database Manager for the American Red Cross in Southeast Pennsylvania. There I learned how to talk to my peers to understand their business needs and design solutions for them. This was a natural starting point for a career in consulting. I joined JCA as a consultant in 2005 and have evolved in my role as the company has grown.

What is one of your favorite stories of/with a JCA client?

There have been a few times when clients have come to us for help after they had already started a new CRM implementation project with their vendors, and their projects were not going well. I was pleased to be able to come into the project with a fresh perspective, hit the “pause” button, assess the situation, and put together a plan for correcting course, working with the vendor.

 

To learn more about how Kate and her team make a difference at nonprofits, read about our consulting services.