Cathryn L. Dhanatya

Cathryn L. Dhanatya, PhD is the Co-founder, President, and Principal at Growing Good Inc. Prior to her founding of Growing Good Inc., she was the Chief Scientific Administrative Officer and Chief Administrative Officer for Stand Up To Cancer at the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Her responsibilities included oversight and management of all the operations and departments within Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).

As CSAO/CAO, she also oversaw the SU2C partnerships with the American Association for Cancer Research, stewardship of Stand Up To Cancer’s Scientific Advisory Committee that includes multiple Nobel Laureates and world-renowned Cancer scientists and researchers, relationships with pharmaceutical, entertainment industry, Fortune 500 companies, non-profit funding partners, and management of SU2C’s scientific research and grant-making portfolio.

Prior to joining SU2C, Dr. Dhanatya held multiple executive leadership positions at both the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC). At UCLA, she served as the Chief Administrative and Program Officer and Scholar of Public Policy for the Williams Institute at the Law School, Director of Research and Financial Administration for the UCLA Art |Global Health Center at the School of Art and Architecture, and Administrative Director for the Center for International and Development Education in the Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences.

While at USC she was the interim Executive Director for Professional Development and the first Assistant Dean for Research at the USC Rossier School of Education.

Dr. Dhanatya has lived and worked in five continents; earned her Ph.D. in Social Science and Comparative Education from UCLA; and has conducted research on media and technology as it relates to health issues around the globe. She has also been the project manager and lead on several HIV/AIDS, international and comparative education, marriage equality, and transgender research advocacy projects throughout her career. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, boy/girl twins, and dog Noodles.