PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Kate Scherr-Adams is a skilled professional and community leader with insight, passion, and energy and over two decades of experience managing programs, people, and projects. Kate’s strong passion for helping organizations achieve their missions led her to launch KS Solutions in 2011. KS Solutions is  a consulting firm focused on helping people navigate personal and organizational challenges and build strategies to effectively achieve positive community impact.

Kate is an insightful thought partner and skilled strategist with experience in program development and outcomes assessment, professional development, mission-centered events, governance and strategic planning. She is an acute listener and observer, with an ability to quickly hone in on critical issues and levers for change. She brings a calming and consistent presence to project teams that contributes to effective and enjoyable working relationships with her clients.

Kate has had success leading corporate and nonprofit teams, volunteer boards, and front-line staff to further program growth and impact. Kate’s understanding of volunteer and board dynamics, strategy development and program design, strategic partnerships, and change management has allowed her the opportunity to impact organizational culture and program success at all levels.

Her background in Social Work (BA) and Nonprofit Management (MA) informs her consulting work with a wide variety of clients. She has consulted to organizations including Catholic Charities of Baltimore, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, University of Maryland Baltimore County, US Conference of Mayors, US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, American Alliance of Museums, and America Service Commissions. Kate’s clients have called her a “secret weapon” and, “the nonprofit fixer.” 

Kate has also worked with the Standards for Excellence Institute, a national initiative established to promote the highest standards of ethics, effectiveness, and accountability in nonprofit governance, management and operations, and to help all nonprofit organizations meet these high benchmarks. Kate’s role is to lead organizations through this process and to work internally with the organization to develop the most effective ways to reach and engage nonprofits in this process.
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Prior to founding KS Solutions, Kate worked in various senior leadership roles for Business Volunteers MD, the Family League of Baltimore City, the Maryland Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, and the YMCA of Metro Atlanta.

Kate is an active community volunteer leading Civics Club with middle school students, serving on Friends of Herring Run Park board and volunteering regularly in her community. She is a nature-lover and a trained hike leader. Kate lives in Baltimore City with her husband and pup, where she has resided for 19 years. She is originally from Columbia, MD, a unique community, which continues to play a large part in her values and perspective.