Catchafire names Brian Fitzgerald Chief Executive Officer

Catchafire, which has provided more than $340 million in pro bono professional expertise to nonprofits since 2010, has named technology innovator and social entrepreneur Brian Fitzgerald as Chief Executive Officer.

Nonprofits are rarely held back by a lack of vision. They are held back because the professional expertise that would help them scale isn’t available and affordable. Catchafire has spent fifteen years closing that gap, connecting more than 15,000 organizations to skilled volunteers who have contributed over 1.6 million hours of work.

Fitzgerald steps in at a moment when it has become clear that AI can be a powerful mission multiplier—provided nonprofits can access the expert human judgment required to harness this technology in a principled way to meet their specific needs. For three decades, Fitzgerald has worked at the cutting edge where technology innovation, human connection, and social purpose meet:

• EdTech leadership: Co-founded Tinkergarten, a human-powered, tech-enabled learning platform that trained and supported 5,000+ educators to deliver a novel curriculum, leading the business through rapid growth, market expansion, and an acquisition by Highlights for Children in 2023.
  
  
• Corporate innovation: As GM, built Audible’s education division from the ground up prior to Amazon’s acquisition, launching and expanding a range of products across early learning, K–12, and higher education. Later served as VP of Product at Knewton, scaling its AI-enabled adaptive learning platform to tens of millions of global users.
  
  
• Social impact: Co-founded a10d, a 501(c)(3) focused on helping young people own their attention and develop the skills, mindsets, and relationships they need to flourish as humans in a digitally saturated world, where he currently serves as Board President.

"The stakes for the nonprofit sector have never been higher, and the conditions in which the organizations we serve do their work have never been more challenging,” said Niko Canner, Catchafire’s Chairman, who has served as interim Chief Executive since late 2024. "Brian is a deeply mission-driven leader and a proven entrepreneur. He takes charge of a business that is distinctive, profitable and growing, with the mandate to shape Catchafire’s future." 

"Catchafire was built on the belief that people are the ultimate catalyst for change," said incoming CEO Brian Fitzgerald. "We have an incredible opportunity to evolve our platform, use AI to give lean nonprofit teams greater leverage, and deepen the volunteer community at our core. I am honored to lead Catchafire as we expand our reach across nonprofits, foundations, and corporate partners." 

About Catchafire

Catchafire is a social enterprise that leverages technology to connect nonprofits with passionate, skilled volunteers. By partnering with foundations and corporations, Catchafire provides organizations with on-demand capacity building to help them achieve their missions. Learn more at catchafire.org.