Kate O'Donnell

Associate Vice President, Creative & Social Media

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Areas of Expertise:

• Proven success with major campaigns and promotional projects
• Integrated branding and communication strategies
• Storytelling by design
• Budget allocation and management

Kate O'Donnell joined Coulter in January 2008 as a senior associate, managing the marketing and creative efforts for clients of Coulter Nonprofit Management, Coulter Events and Coulter Strategy & Innovation. She currently oversees the Creative Services division of Coulter and serves as executive director of the Environmental Design Research Association, a client of Coulter Nonprofit Management.

Prior to joining Coulter, O'Donnell spent six years in Los Angeles with the ABC Television daytime drama, "General Hospital," where she held a number of positions in the writing, production and casting departments. O'Donnell wrote both on-air and audition scenes under the show's Emmy-award winning head writer, as well as assisting with script continuity. In addition to her routine duties, she was tapped during broadcast sweeps to act as production continuity coordinator, ensuring rigorous specifications were met within the writing, production, wardrobe, hair/make-up, and publicity departments. "General Hospital" earned three Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Daytime Drama during O'Donnell's six-year tenure.

O'Donnell's previous experience includes serving as public relations manager for Santa Rosa Medical Center in northern Florida, where she initiated and implemented a successful marketing campaign for the labor and delivery unit and operated as the creative director for television advertising. In addition, O'Donnell was the editor of Healthy Connections, a county-wide publication with a reader circulation of more than 35,000.

O'Donnell began her career in the nonprofit sector, first as assistant editor of one of the world's oldest and largest women's volunteer organizations, the General Federation of Women's Clubs, then serving as communications specialist for the Women's College Coalition (WCC) in Washington, D.C. At the WCC, she helped successfully re-launch a national public service campaign targeting girls' involvement in math and science disciplines, entitled "Expect The Best From A Girl. That's What You'll Get."

O'Donnell earned an undergraduate degree in communications from American University in Washington, D.C., and currently holds memberships in the Directors Guild of America, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Delta Gamma Fraternity of Women.

O'Donnell, her husband, Brendan, and their two daughters reside in Falls Church, Virginia.

Here's what Kate is talking about:

"Creating the Creative Brief" Final Proof, December 2010

“Small Associations Win Big in Social Media” Signature, January/February 2010

“How to Make the Most Out of Your Student Membership” EDRA blog, January 2012

Now, here's the backstory on Kate:

• Hometown: Pasadena, California—home of the Rose Bowl.
• First car: 1984 Toyota Corolla that never seemed to start when it was supposed to.
• Superhero power I wish I had: The ability to clone myself.
• Television show or movie most resembles my current life: Adventures in Babysitting…but since they’re my kids, it’s not really babysitting.
• App I can’t live without: Netflix, since Strawberry Shortcake and Go Diego Go are good for at least 20 minutes of quiet in my house or on the go.
• Favorite guilty pleasure: Dark chocolate covered pretzels or dark chocolate covered strawberries…actually, anything covered in dark chocolate.
• Three publications I’d recommend for anyone who does what I do: Associations Now for obvious reasons, Metropolis for keeping up in the design world and Entertainment Weekly, because it helps me decompress from the real world.
• What I do on my “free” time: I’ll let you know when I get some…
• If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would go…: Australia, Greece and Italy…all are definitely on my “bucket list”!
• Advice I would give my “younger self”: Make sure to spend a semester abroad while in college…it’s still my biggest regret.
• How my life has changed since I joined Coulter: I’ve become a “grown up”—a second kid, a mortgage and the fact that I get called “Ma’am” a lot all seem to confirm that.
• At the end of the day…: there’s nothing better than snuggling with my two girls fresh out of the tub right before bed.