News
Meet Catalyst’s new Director and Senior Vice President!
Catalyst continues to grow, with two exciting new additions! We’re pleased to welcome Maryan Osman as our new Director of Programs and Learning and to celebrate Katie Janowiak’s promotion to Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact. Read on to learn more about Katie and Maryan and their inspiring work and passions.
Katie, what do you do at Catalyst?
In my role, I help guide Catalyst’s work by ensuring that what we do drives value for our network and the communities we serve, and that our actions advance a collaborative, impactful, and equitable social change ecosystem for our region. A taste of what this looks like from a day-to-day lens: keeping up to speed on the work of our network, driving organizational strategic planning, and overseeing our communications, engagement, and impact teams.
What is the issue area that you are most passionate about?
As someone who lives with a chronic disease, healthcare disparities and access to quality healthcare really fire me up. By birth lottery (my race, my zip code, my country, among other factors) I have access to the world’s best technology to manage my disease and it still profoundly alters my day-to-day life. The vast majority of people who suffer from non-communicable diseases cannot access the care I enjoy. This is a death sentence in slow motion that must change.
What is one surprising thing to know about you?
Growing up in Michigan, I helped (and by helped I mean I screwed some bolts here and there) my dad build an experimental twin-engine airplane from scratch in our garage, which he still flies today. Getting a front-row seat to someone working so hard – over 17 years! – to realize a goal shaped my work ethic and influenced my belief in radical possibilities.
What is your favorite part about working at Catalyst?
By far, the people! The Catalyst network, board, and staff are filled with some of the best people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. More than five years in and I feel like I still learn something new from someone each day.
Maryan, what do you do at Catalyst?
I will be leading the funder collaborative work at Catalyst, along with developing, implementing, and supporting programs and helping to create internal efficiencies and processes within the programs team and beyond. Being a little under two weeks into the job, I’m still early in my learning journey in this role and look forward to growing with everyone as I settle in!
What is your “why”?
I have always known since I was a kid that I wanted to make a difference in my community. How that looked and the journey to get there has been what has changed over the years as I learned more about myself, my interests, and where I found I could be helpful. I’m driven by love and hope – for people, our environment, and everything in between. I learned that my “why” is and will always be rooted in that. I think a lot about this quote from Dr. Cornel West: “Justice is what love looks like in public”. I think it perfectly captures what keeps me going, especially in times of distress and challenge.
What is an issue area that you passionate about?
I’ll be honest – I’m a woman of never-ending interests and passions that I deeply connect with. But, if you ever asked me what I could do a TED Talk on, it’s the intersection of our physical environment and our happiness. I feel the most alive when I get to walk around a neighborhood safely, surrounded by greenery and murals on the walls with the streets filled with music, bikes, and (of course) people. I wish designing our city was more influenced by joy – and accessibility for all – than anything else. As former Bogotá mayor Enrique Peñalosa once stated, “when we design a city, we design a way of life.”
What is one surprising thing to know about you?
I love performing! I didn’t grow up doing anything performance related but that’s a personal interest and creative area of mine. I especially like to learn to dance and take lessons when I can. My most recent journey has been with improv. Scary, but oh so fun! Another interesting fact is that I love live shows and worked at venues for 5 years.