Catherine’s connection to Dudley started in the 1980s when her brother, #13552 Matt Sanderson, was a camper and then a leader, following in the footsteps of his best friend, #13244 Rich Bolster. Given his experience with Dudley, it was the only camp she ever considered for her children, #21174 Andrew Hollander, #22474 Robert Hollander, and #24474 Caroline Hollander. 

After graduating from Stanford University, Catherine received master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Princeton University and has worked as a professor of psychology at Amherst College since 1997. She now serves as the Poler Family Professor and Chair of Psychology at Amherst. Catherine’s book, The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity, examines how our outlook on life exerts a powerful influence on psychological and physical well-being. Her most recent book, Why We Act: Turning Bystanders Into Moral Rebels, examines why good people so often stay silent in the face of bad behavior and provides strategies we can all use to speak up. 

Given the extremely positive role that Dudley and Kiniya have played in her children’s development – social, emotional, spiritual – she is delighted to give back in some small way as a member of the Board of Trustees. As she writes in Why We Act, “All three of my children attended a summer camp that had the motto “The Other Fellow First.” There were—and are—many great things about this camp, including the “no electronics” policy, but this motto was, at least for me, one of the highlights. And it wasn’t just a motto used in marketing to anxious parents. It really epitomized the determination of the camp to help children and young adolescents take another person’s perspective.”