Identify and Leverage Personal Strengths
Growing your understanding of yourself can bring purpose and intention to your job and directly correlates with improved performance.
Gallup has found that people who focus on using their strengths are:
• 3 times as likely to have an excellent quality of life,
• 6 times as likely to be engaged at work, and
• 7.8% more productive in their roles.
Who Should Attend
Advancement professionals from any discipline who are new managers or have had new management responsibilities added to their current roles. Experienced managers from any advancement discipline who want to revisit the basics and sharpen their skills.
Benefits of Attending
Participation in this seminar will prepare participants to assess personal leadership strengths and weaknesses in preparation for increased responsibility and career advancement.
Meet Your Facilitators
Christy Cates
Christy Cates is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Operations at the University of Denver (DU). Christy is responsible for the strategic management of DU’s Advancement Operations team which includes Community Experiences, Prospect Development, Business Intelligence and Analytics, Gift Administration and Records Management, Business Services, Talent Management, and organizational planning. In this role, she drives the overall efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of the advancement enterprise by enhancing the coherence and integration of core advancement functions, administering resources strategically and creatively, leading all planning activities, and cultivating a world-class team of talented advancement professionals.
Prior to joining DU, Christy served the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as Executive Director of Advancement Services and UC Irvine as the Senior Executive Director of University Advancement Human Resources. Before entering the world of higher education advancement, Christy held human resources leadership positions with In-N-Out Burgers and Pick Up Stix, Inc., both privately held, multi-site corporations that employed between 800-4,000 employees. She earned a degree in political science from San Diego State University and is an active member of CASE and SHRM.
Katrina Onderdonk
Katrina Onderdonk is the Senior Director of Talent Management for Advancement and Alumni Relations at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Bringing over 20 years of experience and expertise in talent management, she specializes in organizational planning, executive search, learning and development, and building workplace culture. Katrina’s career spans both corporate and non-profit sectors, including leadership roles where she has made significant contributions to the growth and success of each institution. Prior to joining Caltech, she was a Search Consultant with S. Benjamins & Company, and began her career at Bank of America Securities and Gap Inc.
Katrina holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and is actively engaged in the Los Angeles community, contributing her expertise to various non-profit boards.