President & CEO

Kathleen M. Murphy joined the Maryland Bankers Association in 1999 as President and CEO of the only professional association representing commercial banks and thrifts in Maryland. Founded in 1896, the mission of the Maryland Bankers Association is  to promote the strength and success of Maryland banks and bankers.

​With a career spanning state and national banking trade associations, Kathleen served for 13 years as Director of Community Banking for the American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C., as Director of Communications for the Ohio Bankers Association, and in the Financial Card Services Division of Bank One in Columbus.​

​​Among many volunteer positions, Kathleen serves on the Executive Committee of the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy and on the Maryland State Department of Education's Financial Literacy Advisory Council.  She is also past president of the Maryland Government Relations Association and former member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Association of CPAs. Kathleen chaired the 50-state Alliance of State Bankers Associations in 2009-2010 at which time she served on the Board of Directors of the American Bankers Association.   She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the ABA Foundation and on the Independent Community Bankers of America Large Community Bank Council.

Kathleen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Art from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, and served on its Board of Trustees from 2012 – 2019.  She has completed Executive Education Programs from the Darden Business School of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. She was named as one of 50 Influential Marylanders by The Daily Record in 2009, 2014 and 2017 and was inducted into its Circle of Excellence in 2017.  Also in 2017, The Daily Record named her as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women, an award that recognizes outstanding women leaders who are not only leading the way professionally but are dedicating their time and energy to community work as well as mentoring.  She is a 2015 recipient of the YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry Award in Annapolis/Anne Arundel County and is a 2001 graduate of Leadership Maryland.

An artist and avid boater, Kathleen and her husband reside in Annapolis.