Catherine Shaw, Basis President
Catherine is known for her highly organized and motivated approach and brings 20 years of design and project management expertise as Basis’s President. She was instrumental in research and publishing regarding The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which uniquely prepared her for her current work with accessibility issues, both online and in print. Recently, Catherine was sworn in as a member of The Fairfax County Consolidated Funding Pool Committee, a group charged with determining where $18 million of funding will be awarded to County nonprofits. In addition, she was recently added to the Citizens for Civil Discourse (National Political Do Not Contact Registry) Advisory Board. Ms Shaw is a regular speaker at The Center for Nonprofit Advancement, and is a columnist for Direct Marketing of Washington Newsletter, as well as the Wealth Strategies Journal. Increasingly, Catherine is added to speaking panels and key projects because she and her team bring a depth and richness to corporate branding systems, largely due to their extensive nonprofit campaign experience and the remarkable results they have achieved.
Catherine is the driving force behind CreateAThon, a 24-hour marathon of design for good causes, hosted by Basis each autumn. At the beginning of her career, Catherine served as a National Volunteer Coordinator for the AIDS Memorial Quilt as well as National Board member of ASID, which included a nationwide speaking tour. Catherine did her undergraduate studies at The University of Texas, Austin. She received her masters with honors from Trinity College in Washington DC.
> Watch Catherine Shaw discuss five highlights of branding for fundraising professionals
> Watch the Catherine Shaw interview on News Channel 8
"Cath…You have been such a positive influence, a genuine role model on how to run a happy, healthy business while making a significant contribution to the community…Your sharp intellect, your drive and your spontaneous dazzling creativity…Wow!"
—Rob Macdonald, President, Smith Content
"I worked with Catherine as a volunteer designer for the CreateAThon at Basis for the past two years, and even though it's literally 24 hours of design, I look forward to staying up all night each year with her and her gang. Catherine's company and personal vision are just so smart, while at the same being remarkably accessible, that it's impossible not to fall under their spell!"
—Eve Simon, CreateAThon volunteer