Cathy Gibson is the current District Governor of Rotary District 5030. She oversees a District of nearly fifty Rotary Club throughout Western Washington.
CATHERINE GIBSON’s varied career spans 40 years. Beginning in 1980, in roughly 10 year increments she worked in corporate finance in New York, then managed international development projects across Africa, in the newly independent nations of the former Soviet Union, and the South Pacific on behalf of U.S. and European development agencies, then helped build the business consulting practice as a partner at Moss Adams LLP in Seattle, and since 2010, as Managing Partner, has led Evolve Partner Group LLC, a boutique mediation and family business advisory firm. Catherine currently serves as an outside director on the board of Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants.
Beyond her business career, Catherine has prioritized community service. She is a long serving board member, and former board chair at Seattle Goodwill, the West Seattle YMCA, and the United Negro College Fund. Catherine is a 20 year Rotarian, past president of her Rotary club and is currently serving as the Rotary District 5030 Governor in 2020-2021.
She and her husband of 31 years live in West Seattle.
Cathy opened her presentation with Einstein’s “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”. Rotary International’s (RI) Theme of the Year is “Rotary opens opportunities”. She thinks there will be many opportunities ahead for Rotary.
Being an experienced mountaineer (she has climbed seven summits), she shared with us her setback during the climb on Mount McKinley. Despite mapping out a well-planned route, having a good team and having learned from past accidents, she suffered snow blindness. Nonetheless, she and her team summited by doing one step at a time.
The district goals for this year align with Rotary International’s including adding new clubs, increasing membership and continuing to fight polio. District 5030 will launch three new clubs, Environmental Rotary Club of Puget Sound, Rotary Club of Southeast Seattle, and the Rotary Club of the Pacific Northwest Fighting Sex Trafficking, with a plan to have seven more in the next three years. The District 5030 Foundation is supporting the “End Polio Now” program with a $2 million grant. She also encouraged Rotarians to volunteer at Covid-19 vaccine sites.
Rotary’s brand is perceived differently in different regions. Rotarians are humanitarians in North America while it is more for personal affiliation in Europe, and for professional networking in other countries.
Regarding membership diversity, statistics aren’t currently tracked. Cathy thinks that open culture is key. We need to think about the meals we eat, holidays we celebrate, jokes we laugh about and who the program beneficiaries are etc… and be sensitive to our members and guests.
In terms of gender equality, RI is committed to have 25% female board members. Jennifer Jones from Canada will be the next RI president, the first female in Rotary’s 115 years history.
To attract young professional, Cathy suggested Rotarians invite someone from their profession to join as they retire and to host networking events, which young professionals are interested in.
University Sunrise Rotary Club has been given the Award for Outstanding Growth in Membership. Our membership has risen by 20% year to date.