Our Leadership Team

Award-Winning Franchise

Meet the team dedicated to your success

The Made in the Shade leadership team brings a great wealth of industry knowledge, practical experience, and dedication to the overall success of its franchisees. With decades of combined experience, people skills, and know-how in the field, you will find unparalleled support for the lifetime of your franchise with the latest industry trends, tips of the trade, and ongoing continuing education.

Contact us today to learn about our low-cost franchise opportunity that could change your life forever!

cathy-morse-mits-founder

Founder

Cathy Morse

Prior to founding Made in the Shade, Cathy enjoyed an accomplished career in marketing management and secondary education. After working in Corporate America for a number of years, Cathy quickly realized that the rigid structure and travel demands were not for her. Upon the urging of her husband, Cathy retired from teaching to assist with his home-based flooring business. She quickly realized that home interiors was her destiny and added window fashions to their flooring offering and the rest became history!

Cathy realized that the success of the Made in the Shade organization and franchisees would be accomplished not just from selling premium quality products but through an absolute dedication to the success of franchisee and a commitment to provide clients an exemplary buying experience. Cathy created a unique family culture which lives on today through her son, Josh Morse, who is the current CEO of Made in the Shade.

Josh CEO

CEO AND Co-FRANCHISE OWNER

Josh Morse

Josh worked for his family’s flooring business while attending UTSA, where he graduated with a BBA degree in Finance. He decided post-college to continue his pursuit in the family business as he realized the earning potential and enjoyed the freedom and flexibility it offered. When window coverings were added to the mix, Josh discovered that he shared a mutual excitement about this industry and it quickly became a favorite part of his offering. Josh is a passion-driven and successful entrepreneur and carries on his mother’s values of franchisees and customers come first.

The path that lead to Josh becoming the CEO of Made in the Shade was through owning and operating his own franchise in San Antonio with his wife Jessica. Together they built a top Made in the Shade franchise within the MITS system and rank in the top three sales performers year after year. Having lived in the franchisee’s shoes provides Josh a clear vision of what takes to build a successful Made in the Shade business and consistently shares that wisdom with MITS Franchisees.

In his leisure time, Josh enjoys playing tennis and basketball and watching his favorite sports teams, particularly the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Texans. He resides in San Antonio, TX with his wife Jessica and their 2 children.

Jessica

Creative director AND Co-FRANCHISE OWNER

Jess Morse

Jess brings many skill sets to the table, but her creativity within the brand has propelled Made in the Shade to higher levels. Not only has she been a franchise owner and helped with back-end support for the local business, but she is constantly designing and creating new pieces for the MITS brand. In her early career, Jess worked for Ferguson Enterprises, where she sold plumbing and lighting and gained her first interest in home improvement.

Jess is very passionate about a healthy lifestyle and also received her certification in nutritional therapy during her spare time. Josh and Jess were high school sweethearts and she is now blessed with two kids, Lily and JJ. She enjoys working in the family business with her husband and extended family which helps run the local franchise.

Eddie

VICE PRESIDENT OF FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT

Eddie Miller

Eddie is a Certified Franchise Consultant who is passionate about helping people make the transition from employee to owner. He has a 25+ year background in Business Development in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Eddie joined the Made in the Shade team on a consultative basis in 2016 and is a strong believer in the brand, value proposition, training, return on investment, and its highly ethical family culture.
In addition to his industry certifications, Eddie has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of New Orleans, and an Advanced Masters Certification in Business Strategies from Tulane University. He is the founder and president of one of the premier Franchise Consulting firms in the South.

Eddie is a native of New Orleans, LA, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. In addition to being active in his church and community, he is an avid football fan, and loves good music and good food.

Michael

DIRECTOR OF TRAINING AND FRANCHISE SUPPORT

Michael Sloan

Michael brings nearly 40 years of window fashions experience to his position with Made in the Shade. He first entered the industry in the 1980’s owning his own home-based window fashions business before transitioning into the wholesale side of the industry in the 1990’s where he held positions of Territory Sales Manager, National Sales Manager and Director of Sales.

Michael’s deep understanding of both the retail and wholesale sides of the industry position him well to train, counsel, and support Made in the Shade owners to launch and drive growth in their business.

Lupe

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

GUADALUPE “LUPE” CAVAZOS
Lupe is our dedicated Executive Assistant who joined the Made in the Shade team in 2016. She is as passionate in her role to help Made in the Shade owners as she is in her role within the corporate office. Lupe is instrumental in maintaining the flow of communication between the corporate office, franchisees and vendors, coordinates all MITS events, is responsible for all administrative functions and is the first to step forward for anyone in need of assistance.

Lupe brings a wealth of skills and education to her role. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a minor in Psychology from Purdue University. She is a co-founder of the first Hispanic Sorority at Purdue; Delta Phi Mu Sorority.

Lupe is a native of Indiana, but has resided in San Antonio, TX since 2005 with her now adult son and daughter and her three adorable fur babies. She is an avid KC Chiefs football and White Sox baseball fan and enjoys dancing, listening to music and giving all glory to God.