Welcoming Catherine Penkert, Chief of Staff

We are excited to welcome Catherine Penkert as the new Chief of Staff at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Catherine joins Twin Cities Habitat with an exceptional track record of leadership and impact across sectors, and she brings a wealth of experience that will guide our organization into its next chapter of growth and innovation.

Prior to joining Twin Cities Habitat, Catherine served as Vice President of Operations at GREATER MSP, where she was responsible for ensuring enterprise excellence across the regional economic development partnership. Her leadership of organizational operations supported the Partnership’s mission to lead the world in inclusive economic growth – and to build one of America’s best economic development teams.

Throughout her career, Catherine has been committed to strengthening communities through cross-sector collaboration. During more than 14 years with the City of Saint Paul, she held several key roles, including Director of the Saint Paul Public Library and a member of the mayor’s cabinet. She launched the award-winning expansion of the youth employment program into Right Track, helped create an enterprise innovation team, and led transformative work to reimagine the city's libraries as vibrant hubs for learning, connection, and equity. This included eliminating late fines, expanding trauma-informed practices, and co-creating with community stakeholders’ bold new visions for capital investment. Her leadership was recognized with Top City Innovation awards from the Minnesota Local Government Innovation Awards – twice!

Before her work in the public sector, Catherine served with community-based nonprofits in both Minneapolis and Chicago, further deepening her understanding of systems change and grassroots impact.

Academically, Catherine earned her Master’s of Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and her Master’s of Social Work from the University of Minnesota. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology.

Catherine lives in Saint Paul with her husband and children, and she brings not only expertise and vision, but also a deep, personal investment in the well-being of the communities we serve.

We are excited to have Catherine step into this vital role as Chief of Staff. Her leadership will play an important part in helping Habitat continue to build a more just, equitable, and thriving Twin Cities region as we build forward together.

If you're interested in joining Catherine as a new member of the Habitat team, view our current job opportunities. 

Our Chief of Staff search was conducted by Ballinger | Leafblad, an executive search firm dedicated to serving the civic sector, partnering with foundations, nonprofits, higher education institutions, and professional associations to identify and recruit exceptional leaders.