This week’s Spotlight features External Relations Manager Cathy Brundage. Cathy has been with CFAR since 1983, joining what was then the Wharton Applied Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania in a temp position that expanded into a full-time role. She oversees special events and alumni outreach, provides sales and marketing support, manages the firm’s website, and more. Click here to read her full biography.
First and last name
Cathy Brundage.
What is your role at CFAR?
External Relations Manager.
How long have you been with CFAR?
37 years.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
Keeping in touch with all of the people I’ve met in my role over the years, especially former employees.
What are three words you would use to describe CFAR?
Thoughtful, curious, and caring.
What motivates you to go to work?
Knowing that what I do helps the consultants do their jobs.
What has been your favorite memory at CFAR?
Our reunions, seeing people you haven’t seen in years and catching up with them.
What is your favorite thing about working at CFAR?
The people I work with, we have a wonderful group of people.
What book are you currently reading right now?
Exit Wounds — Nineteen Tales of Mystery.
What is your favorite book/podcast?
It’s a tie between Jane Eyre and PS Your Cat is Dead.
If you could gain a new skill in 10 minutes, what would it be?
Woodworking.
What are your top three publications that you read every morning?
AP News, Beckers Digest, and LinkedIn.
What is one thing—industry-related or not—you learned in the last month?
How to use Divi to update a website.
What is one thing that made you smile recently?
Watching my nephew get excited about things he was seeing while we were hiking.
If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would it be and why?
Adam Haritan. I’m fascinated by all the things growing around me and I’ve learned a lot from his videos on plant identification and usage.
How do you define success?
That changes from day to day. Generally, having a goal in mind and having it come to fruition, whether it’s helping implement the new CFAR website, or trying a new recipe that comes out perfectly and goes into my “keep” file.
What inspires you?
Nature, it’s constantly evolving and changing, and I see things I’ve never seen before every day.