The PPL Story
I am very grateful I get to spend time with talented leaders and teams, helping them find their power and fulfill their purpose. Why do I do this work?
My journey began many years ago while in college at Texas Christian University (Go Frogs!). For the first time in my life, I felt like I had found my voice. Much credit goes to the student leadership opportunities I was given. Soon after graduation, I discovered a career field - student affairs administration - in which I could teach students about leadership as I had been taught.
Cathy Smalley Pales, Ed.D.
PPL Founder
After working for several different institutions and finishing my doctorate at the University of Virginia (Go Hoos!), I landed at NACAS - an association for higher education administrators working in auxiliary services. I was responsible for providing professional development and education. I very quickly learned that our members and volunteer leaders were hungry for leadership development. Colleges and universities offer world-class leadership development to students and professionals through a variety of avenues. But what about their own employees? Not much is offered, particularly long-term engagements that lead to real change. I saw the same thing happening associations; association staff often get the short stick. I knew I had to be part of bringing quality leadership development to the non-profit world - especially higher education and associations.
Forming PPL is my contribution to address a great need - high quality leadership development for higher education administrators, association executives, volunteer leaders and other non-profit leaders. We face great challenges in the non-profit sector - challenges that are only going to become more complex over time. Our leaders and teams need to be functioning at their highest potential in order to meet these challenges. So often I see great leaders get in their own way (including me) because of self-limiting beliefs, by being stuck in problem-solving and not taking the time to maximize their team's working dynamics. It is not my job to tell you how to be a better leader. It is my job to provide the space for you and your team to discover what it means to be great and design processes to guide you to your ideal future.
It is my passion and purpose to work with great leaders and teams to help make them even better. I would be honored to partner with you.
Formal Biography
Cathy Smalley Pales, Ed.D is the Director of Alumni Engagement for the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and principal of Powerful Purpose Leadership, LLC.
Dr. Pales is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at the University of Virginia and has delivered presentations for the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Non Profit Excellence (Charlottesville), the Virginia Network of Non Profit Organizations (VANNO), NASPA National and Region III (Student Affairs Administrators) and NACAS (College and University Auxiliary Services Administrators). She serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Mediation Center of Charlottesville, and has served as Vice Chairperson of the Board of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit Business Council.
Her particular areas of interest include: emotional intelligence for leaders, organizational conflict management, stages of adult leadership development, effective team dynamics, mindfulness, and applying positive psychology principles to leadership and team development.
Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Leadership and Organizational Change, University of Virginia
Graduate, Georgetown University Leadership Coaching Program, Accredited Coach Training Program, International Coach Federation
Certified Mediator, Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Virginia