Olya Catto serves as Chief Operating Officer responsible for developing and implementing strategies to achieve and maintain operational excellence. She provides oversight of the Security and Operations, Technology Services, Internal Communications, and Program Coordination and Development functions, and leads strategic initiatives that ensure NDI's internal effectiveness.

Olya is an international development executive with over 25 years of experience leading impactful programs, designing effective business solutions, building donor and client relationships, and bringing diverse teams together to achieve results. Prior to NDI, she served as Vice President of Project Operations and Volunteer Programs at ACDI/VOCA, a leading economic growth and resilience NGO. She has managed over 20 large programs in 15 countries, including 8 years overseas in Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, and Latin America with companies like Chemonics International, DAI Global, and Tetra Tech ARD. She developed a highly effective external communications strategy for USAID/Macedonia which earned her a number of USAID and U.S. State Department Honor Awards. She is also the recipient of a Humentum Operational Excellence Award for designing and deploying a rapid global program start-up and mobilization model.

Ms. Catto holds a BA from the Moscow Linguistics University and a Leadership and Management Certificate from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She speaks English, Russian, and Spanish