About Us

Kathleen Yager

Senior Director of Strategy and Impact

Contact Kathleen
Send an email

Kathy Yager, senior director of strategy and impact, oversees five focus areas: accreditation certification, client protection, data management, safety management, and risk management. In her seventeen years at Catholic Charities, Kathy has served in several roles, with increasing responsibility and demonstrable impact. In every role, her persistent and persuasive skills shine, allowing her to advance Catholic Charities’ mission through innovation.

As a leader, Kathy is able to assess needs of the organization; she then designs, implements, and evaluates projects for maximum efficiency to enhance performance improvement. She is constantly, “imagining what could be and thinking as big as I can.” While envisioning new projects, she asks three questions: Is it feasible? How can we work together to get this done? What is the best approach? Without fail, these questions lead to successful outcomes.

Of particular pride is her team-building ability. Like Kathy, her team is known for its integrity and robust impact. She sees their talent, analyzes where strengths intersect, and makes sure they have what they need to get goals accomplished. Conscientious of their careers, she continually provides opportunities for professional development.

Kathy came to Catholic Charities with a strong background in nonprofit work. At Fresh Start Inc., a substance use disorder residential services treatment center for women, she led an interdepartmental team in its inaugural year of the Utilization Review Committee. As the accreditation coordinator, she pioneered the American Correctional Association survey, ensuring Fresh Start’s first accreditation. As data manager and ABS support administrator at Hispanic UMADAOP, Kathy maintained the government performance and results act (GRPA), and global appraisal of individual needs (GAIN) databases.

Kathy graduated with honors from Oberlin College and earned her masters from Case Western Reserve University, Mandel School of Social Sciences with a concentration in adult mental health and certification in nonprofit management. She is a licensed social worker, a CARF surveyor, and holds a certification in data visualization and analytics. She sits on the board of the Westside Community House.