Who We Are
Our Staff
Kathleen Burke Barrett, Chief Executive Officer - Kathleen Burke Barrett has more than 20 years of experience as a manager in corporations and nonprofit organizations. She is an experienced executive and fundraiser with a high level of personal and professional integrity and an understanding of, and commitment to, nonprofit organizations.
Since August 2006, Ms. Barrett has served as Chief Executive Officer of St. Joseph’s Villa. Prior to joining St. Joseph’s Villa, Ms. Barrett served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Richmond Chapter of the American Red Cross, having previously served as its Vice President, Financial Development and Marketing (1999-2004).
Prior to joining the American Red Cross, Ms. Barrett was Senior Vice President for Development (1991-1992) and then Chief Executive Officer (1992-1999) with the Virginia Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, a statewide $1.23 million operation with five offices across Virginia. She also has served as Director of Development and Admissions, Marymount School (1988-1991), and Director of Manpower Development, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (1981-1988). She began her professional career as a teacher at St. Gertrude’s High School (1971-1978), and in 2004, she received the school’s Distinguished Alumna Award. She also served on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business from 1977 to 1979, and since 2002, Ms. Barrett has been on the adjunct faculty at VCU’s Graduate School of Public Administration, teaching Fund Development for the Non-Profit Sector.
Ms. Barrett earned a Bachelor of Science, Business degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1971 and a Master of Science, Business degree from VCU in 1973. She earned Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) certification. She earned a certificate in Leadership and Strategic Planning in Non-Profit Organizations from Harvard University in 1998. She completed the Leadership Metro Richmond program with the class of 2003 and the Lead Virginia program with the class of 2005.
Kathleen Barrett has received several awards from the American Red Cross, including the Tiffany Award for Leadership Excellence (2004), the Spirit of Excellence in Management Award (2001) and the High Performer Award (1999). She received the Nina Abady Award from the Virginia Association of Fundraising Executives in 2003 for her “outstanding professional and ethical service to the field of development.” The South African Red Cross Society presented Ms. Barrett with an award in 2001-2002 for “rendering services to prevent and alleviate human suffering and to foster human dignity by addressing the needs of the South African people.” And in 2005, VCU’s School of Business named Ms. Barrett its Alumna of the Year.
