Director of Member Services

Maia Porter

Maia Porter joined the CAIA Association in 2006. Responsible for all aspects of the membership experience, she oversees the CAIA membership programs and benefits, provides support for CAIA's existing global chapters, and works with CAIA staff and members worldwide to establish member networks and activities.

Maia works closely with her colleagues to promote the CAIA designation and to strengthen and increase member benefits, with an emphasis on creating enhanced professional networking and continuing education opportunities. She regularly communicates with the CAIA membership and considers this to be a highlight of her position.

A graduate of Smith College, where she earned a combined degree in Anthropology and Art, her professional background is in arts and academic administration. Prior to joining the CAIA Association, she owned a contemporary art and furniture gallery near Boston, was managing director of a major American craft gallery, and served on the staff of Harvard College.

Maia is married to writer Daniel Robb and has two young children. In her spare time she enjoys restoring their circa 1840 farmhouse and exploring the old New England villages that surround Amherst.

Director of Chapter Relations

Debbie McLean

Debbie, who joined CAIA in 2012 as the Director of Chapter Relations, is responsible for managing the strategic development of the global chapter network and providing support for CAIA's Chapter Executives. She is the chief point of contact for the chapters in the Americas and works closely with colleagues in Europe and Asia-Pacific to ensure smooth coordination and planning of all chapter development and activities worldwide.

Prior to her role at CAIA, Debbie was a Senior Individual Gift Officer at Mount Holyoke College, where she worked to engage key constituencies in the mission and priorities of the College. Debbie began her career at ABC News, working on the daily production team of Good Morning America and World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. She later joined Widmeyer Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based marketing/media relations firm, where she managed a portfolio of education reform organizations, corporations, and federal agencies. By the mid-1990's Debbie's passion for education led her to a national research, policy, and advocacy organization in Boston that stood at the forefront of the national urban education reform dialogue. In 2006, Debbie shifted her focus from K-12 education reform to higher education, joining Smith College's Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations. At Smith, Debbie worked to secure grants and to create mutually beneficial partnerships with corporations.

Debbie is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in politics.

Member Services Manager

Katherine Abe

In her role as a Member Services Manager, Katherine is the editor of the CAIA Member Update, manages the membership registration process, and is the first point of contact for CAIA membership inquiries. She works with her colleagues to improve and enhance member benefits. She enjoys hearing from the members, and welcomes questions and suggestions.

Katherine's previous employment history includes survey research data collection, ESL instruction, working with chronically mentally-ill adults, and helping undergraduates understand the fundamentals of research.

Katherine studied Dostoyevsky in college, and researched the psychological implications of guilt and shame in graduate school. Katherine is fluent in Japanese.