Katie Collins-Ihrke

Katie Collins-Ihrke is the current Executive Director at THE ARC OF HOWARD COUNTY INC. Katie has been in this position since July of 2022 and their responsibilities include leading the overall strategy, funding, finances, operations, partnership development and program development.

Prior to their current role, Katie was the Executive Director at ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES FOR INDEPENDENCE INC from August 2014 to July 2022. During their time there, they were responsible for strategic and operational leadership across all functions to support revenue growth and quality service delivery. This included designing and executing three-year strategy and action plans with the support of the Board of Directors, as well as collaborating with them to implement fiscal policies and procedures, bylaws, HR policies and SOPs. Katie also recruited, coached and developed staff to support capacity building, succession planning and personal growth.

In addition, Katie has experience securing funding for new programs and managing program implementation, impact evaluation, finances and audit. Katie also drove continuous quality improvement across services and programs, ensuring consumer satisfaction and growth. Additionally, Katie implemented data collection procedures and logic models to measure impact and improve program performance.

Outside of their direct roles at companies, Katie has also been active in strategic planning activities to ensure the needs of the client groups and community are aligned and met. Katie has testified on bills to indicate the impact to the disability community such as voting accessibility and access to housing. Furthermore, Katie has built coalitions with likeminded partners to garner positive change and optimize limited access to resources.

Katie Collins-Ihrke has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland Global Campus, a Masters of Science (M.S.) in Non-Profit and Association Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology from Saginaw Valley State University. Katie also has a Certification from USF Corporate Training and Professional Education in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate.

Some direct reports include Aureen Dulla - Chief Financial Officer, Naomi Lyvers - Director of Human Resources, and Bryan Sorrentino - Director of Community Integration Services.