Cathy is the founding executive director of The Sprout Fund, a non-profit organization that supports innovative ideas and grassroots community projects that are catalyzing change in Pittsburgh.

Cathy provides leadership for the organization, acts as a champion for Sprout in the community, manages relationships with donors and funders, provides guidance to programs, and works closely with The Sprout Fund Board of Directors to advance the mission of the organization. As the corporation’s President, Cathy also has a fiduciary role in the organization and serves as a voting member of the Board of Directors.

Cathy founded Sprout while working as a senior fellow through Coro Center for Civic Leadership in the office of former Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey. Through her fellowship, she served as an assistant to the Chief Executive from June 2000 until July 2002. Her responsibilities included implementing the recommendations of the 30 Roddey Transition Teams, advancing projects from the New Idea Factory, and preparing Allegheny County’s comprehensive State Legislative Agendas and Federal Appropriation packages.

Prior to joining the Roddey Administration, Cathy worked as the Director of Business Development and Corporate Marketing for Oxford Development Company where she had been since 1993.

As an active member of many of Pittsburgh’s civic and cultural organizations, Cathy currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and The Ellis School. She is a member of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the International Women’s Forum. Cathy is a former board member of Artist and Cities, Beginning with Books, the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh, the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh’s Emergency Medicine Foundation, and Working Order.

Cathy graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a dual degree in Professional Writing and Literary Cultural Studies. She is a native of Pittsburgh and lives in Squirrel Hill with her husband, Rob Long, and their children, Mathew, Evie, and Chloe.