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ULI Lands New Senior VP, Membership Marketing

Washington, DC (August 26, 2019) – Sterling Martin is pleased to announce that Catherine Gahres has joined the Urban Land Institute (ULI) team as their new Senior Vice President, Membership Marketing.  

Ms. Gahres joins ULI from the American Academy of Physician Assistants where she led the membership recruitment, retention, customer care and product development teams for the 60,000-member professional association. Gahres is an experienced executive with over 20 years dedicated to strategic planning and change management within the nonprofit and corporate sectors. Her marketing and public relations background has given Gahres’ experiences that have required high-level strategic planning skills to tactical implementation in support of client efforts. In her previously held matrix-role as Associate Director, Membership Communications at The Nature Conservancy, Gahres worked both with internal stakeholders and external vendors to create compelling content and design for the 1 million-member nonprofit organization.

As Senior Vice President, Membership Marketing for ULI, Gahres will use her innovative creative skills and strong leadership abilities to translate the organization’s strategic plan into operational priorities by motivating the staff to remain focused on serving its members

Gahres holds a MBA from Marymount University. She is a member and former council chair of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

About Urban Land Institute

Urban Land Institute, located in Washington, DC, is a 501© (3) nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members. Founded in 1936, they now have over 42,000 members worldwide, representing the entire spectrum of land use, real estate development and related disciplines working in private enterprise and public service. A multidisciplinary real estate forum, ULI facilitates an open exchange of ideas, information and experience among industry leaders and policy makers dedicated to creating better ideas. ULI provides leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. ULI operates with an annual revenue budget of over $70M.

About Sterling Martin Associates

Sterling Martin Associates (SMA) is a national executive search firm founded in 2006 by CEO and Managing Partner, David Martin. SMA specializes in working with associations and nonprofit organizations on senior-level executive searches. With five office locations in Washington, DC, Chicago, New York and California, SMA offers national reach and scope while providing superior quality of service in a cost-effective manner. Our partners and consultants bring association, nonprofit and for-profit management experience to each of our client engagements. Our team also serves as volunteers for a wide range of nonprofit governing boards.

Sterling Martin

Sterling Martin (SM) is a leading specialty national search firm conducting chief executive-level searches for associations, nonprofits, and organizations across diverse specialties. SM has built an outstanding reputation by providing impeccable service to its clients and by placing exceptional talent. Based primarily in Washington, DC, SM has offices in New York, Chicago, and Orange County, CA.

Since founding the firm in 2006 with a mission to combine his search expertise with nonprofit board experience, David Martin now leads a highly experienced and diverse team, combining in-depth client analysis with the latest search technologies to create effective, personalized searches. Since the day he founded the firm, David has personally taken a leadership role with every search, for every client.

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