Cathy Adams YMCA management software files

Cathleen "Cathy" Adams was employed in the YMCA movement for over 35 years, retiring in 2016. Active throughout her young life in Girl Scouting, Adams was advised by a college counselor to explore career options in youth organizations such as the YMCA. She interned with the Indian Boundary YMCA, a part of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and subsequently transferred to and graduated from George Williams College.

Adams's earliest roles were as waterfront director at YMCA Camp MacLean in Burlington, Wisconsin, and program director—aquatics, preschool, youth development—at Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove. She went on to help manage branch operations before moving into a central role at the metro office of the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, where she revamped the program and membership registration process, developed membership policies, and implemented a computerized membership/program registration system throughout the association. As a result of her interest and experience in systems, she was recruited in 1997 to work on membership/program registration software at YMCA of the USA (Y-USA).

At Y-USA, Adams managed a software support team while in the Technology Resource Group, additionally providing business operations assessments to Ys and managing contracts with outside providers related to Y Ware, Y Vision and other proprietary Y software. She moved into Association Resources in 2008 as Resource Manager, where she was instrumental in helping develop, manage and support the YMCA Partner Program, consulting tools and applications (such as the financial benchmark reports and My Y Policies application), and generally support Association Resources in its best use of technology.

[Information primarily quoted and adapted from Y-USA retirement announcement]