Catalina Spinel

Starting August 2026, Catalina stepped into the role of Director of Development. Leveraging her track record of building relationships and mobilizing resources, she partners closely with the Vice President of Development to execute Candid’s fundraising strategy — leading the systems and operations that power the team’s pipeline and revenue forecasting, cultivating new funder relationships, and stewarding a portfolio of general operating support funders. She also works cross-functionally across Candid to align fundraising priorities with the organization’s broader goals.

Catalina has dedicated her career to creating innovative solutions to social challenges in collaboration with diverse stakeholders. Prior to this role, she served as Candid’s Director of Partnerships, where she built partnerships and strategies that strengthened the social sector through comprehensive data, training, and insights on philanthropy. Before that, she was Program Manager of Candid’s New York Learning Center. There, she connected thousands of social sector professionals with the resources they need to thrive. Earlier in her career, Catalina brought her partnership-building skills to government and multilateral institutions: at the NYC Department of Education, she expanded the District-Charter Collaborative to improve instructional practices and student outcomes; at the United Nations, she led the creation of the Victims of Terrorism Support Portal.

Catalina holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Columbia University and a bachelor’s from Universidad de los Andes.