Cathleen Karlsson
Content Strategist
Cathleen Karlsson serves as the Content Strategist for AAFMAA and SpouseLink. She has been part of the Marketing team since December 2015. In her role, Cath oversees the content strategy for AAFMAA at large and develops and manages content creation for the SpouseLink website and social channels.
Cathleen earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing (Fiction) from the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout her four years on campus, she was a Staff Writer and the Assistant Arts & Entertainment editor for ""The Pitt News"" student newspaper, as well as a performing member of, choreographer for, and member of the board representing the Pitt Dance Ensemble. Her studies included theater production, performer interviews and costumery.
Since 2012, Cathleen has been a member of the board for The Fairfax Ballet Company and is currently serving as Vice President of the Board — her second time being elected to that position during her tenure. Additionally, she is the Marketing Chair for the Company and the Russell School of Ballet. Cathleen performs annually in the Company's full-length production of ""The Nutcracker." She has also volunteered with Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) as the producer of its weekly e-newsletter since 2011 — and she serves on FOHA's Tech committee.
Cathleen's passions are anything artsy, DIY, sewing, crafts, dancing and... yes, writing! But, most of all, Cathleen is the unendingly proud mother of her teenage daughter, who is also a performing member of The Fairfax Ballet Company.
Cathleen's father served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years. During his time in the service, he worked at the Pentagon and was the Commanding Officer at NAS Glenview, in Glenview, I.L. As a family, they were stationed in mostly East Coast and midwestern states. Newport, RI was Cathleen's favorite, but Virginia has been considered "home” since the summer of 1979.
Cathleen has enjoyed her career in advertising and marketing for more than 26 years, holding such roles as Proofreader/Editor, Creative Assistant, Traffic Manager, Senior Copywriter, Senior Programming Producer, Interactive Content Marketing Manager, and Content Strategist. She has earned industry accolades as part of the award-winning creative teams at two DC-area advertising agencies.