Catharine J. Brennan
Catharine J. Brennan is the Director of CP Mentors. Cathy has worked in secondary and college education since 1976. She has served as an Admissions Officer at Dartmouth College, Director of Career Planning and Placement at Lake Forest College, and worked in development and admissions at Bryn Mawr College. She was a College Guidance Counselor at Merion Mercy Academy outside of Philadelphia, and was the founding director of College Perspectives, a private education consulting practice. Cathy is also the Founder and Director of Radnor Children’s Foundation.
Cathy graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in History and Native American Studies, and earned her Master’s in Education from Harvard. She is a trustee emeritus of the Academic and Student Life Committee of Cristo Rey Boston High School, a former trustee and active member of the Founders Circle initiative of the United Way of the Cape and Islands. Cathy holds an Honorary Doctorate from Mount Aloysius College and was elected an Honorary Alumna of the University of Notre Dame.
John J. Brennan
John J. Brennan is the Chairman of the Board of CP Mentors. Jack is chairman emeritus and senior advisor of Vanguard; a director of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, American Express Company, and Rockefeller Capital Management; chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Notre Dame; a founding trustee of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST); chairman of Vanguard Charitable; co-founder and Chair of Catholic Investment Services; a member of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission and Co-chairman of ReadyNation’s CEO Task Force on Early Childhood. He is a judge for the Templeton Prize. He is past chairman of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Financial Accounting Foundation, and the Investment Company Institute.
Jack graduated from Dartmouth College and earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. He is the 2017 recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award from Harvard Business School, and received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Notre Dame, Mount Aloysius College, Curry College, and Drexel University.
Kathleen Norden
Kathleen Norden is the Treasurer and the Associate Director of CP Mentors. Kathy started her career at Arthur Andersen & Co. in New York City. She then worked at WPP Group in the corporate finance group, and most recently was the Treasurer of College Perspectives, a private education consulting practice. Kathy was also the Treasurer of Radnor, A Better Chance, Inc, a non-profit organization which places high-performing students of color into the nation’s leadership pipeline through increased access to the nation’s top independent and public schools.
Kathy is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in accounting. In addition to her work at CP Mentors, Kathy also volunteers at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital.
Kara Brennan
Kara Brennan is the Chief Programming Officer for CP Mentors. She works directly with the guidance offices and Scholars at our partner schools, and works in development and mentor recruitment. Outside of CP Mentors, Kara is an Educational Consultant and Social Media Producer for the film production company Walden Media, and consults with the Center for Career Development at the University of Notre Dame. She was previously a producer for The History Channel, worked in production for HBO and Fox Films, and was a Teaching Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Schools Foundation.
Kara graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor’s degree in Film, Television and Theater, and received her Master’s in Education from Harvard. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in childhood literacy from Boston University.
