Living in countries with high poverty and extreme inequality, communities with deep trauma, and war zones has made the pain of trauma very personal for me.
I know what it’s like to seek healing after trauma because I am daily pursuing my own healing. While I wish healing could be linear, I have learned from many tears for my people, burnout, and reinventing my entire operating mode, that healing is often more like one step forward, two steps back, three steps forward, one step back, and one step back. When you love hard, you hurt hard. I promise to keep my heart soft even if it hurts.
And early on - barely out of high school - I committed my life to helping others fight for their healing no matter the size of the trauma.
If the team you lead or the organization you run needs a little (or a lot!) of help to flourish in their metrics or well-being, I can help.
The Backstory
Washington DC
Before six years of age, my family lived in the most diverse county in the United States. This made me love the vibrancy of other cultures.
Kenya
At 6 years old, my parents moved me and my sisters to Nairobi, Kenya which became my family’s home for 24 years. The “Tuko Pamoja - We are Together” mentality where relationships are everything nurtured a very high value of community in me.
East Africa
I finished high school but loved Africa too much to leave so I stayed for a year working with different NGOs. I learned more in that year of my life than I think in all of my years of higher education. It led me to study social work, not-for-profit-management, and global health systems leadership. Most of my friends I grew up with in church lived in the slums and didn’t always know where their next meal was coming from, but when it was time for me to go to college, my church family hosted a “harambee” where they pull their resources together to send me as their daughter for my education. Forever grateful!
Pembroke
After attending university in the U.S., I moved to Pembroke Township, a rural, primarily African American community highlighted by Oprah for its systemic poverty. God knew I needed a family in the U.S., and Pembroke became my home. My "uncles" and "aunties," black farmers, taught me the value of the slow plow—daily planting seeds of love, tending to the weeds, and praying for growth. While working in community development, I felt inauthentic advocating for a population I didn’t belong to. My Pembroke family invited me to move in and gave me a home. Pembroke's struggles became my own, and its residents truly were my family. This deep connection helped me leverage my privilege and trust to bring decision-makers to tables in Pembroke to listen and learn from Pembroke leaders, elevating community voices. Trust grew, relationships formed, and when the community leaders took the mic, I knew I could step back, trusting the collaboration would continue without me. I felt peace and a release but my heart grieved leaving my Pembroke family to move to the Middle East for my masters degree. My Pembroke family said "It's not that you are leaving us, let us send you. You will be an ambassador for us." They had the most meaningful send off service, pulling their resources together to invest in my education. Their sacrificial love left me in tears, deeply touched by their support.
Middle East
Living in a country whose default template for society is rest rhythms, helped me learn to rest, play, create, delight like never before. Before I came there, I gave away everything I owned except for two suitcases. I was on a student visa and couldn’t work outside my university. Again complete strangers adopted me and took such extravagant care of me, meeting my needs without me ever asking. I was so blessed to live on a mountain, in a forest, on a beach, in a city with a fusion of cultures. It was the ideal place for my heart to heal. When there were rockets, I had invitations from my friends who were Palestinians, Ultraorthodox Jews, Arab Christians, Atheists, Messianic Believers, and Druze to come stay with their families.
Forever Love
While in the middle east, I met a Swiss Lebanese Nigerian gentleman surfer with dreadlocks who can speak in six languages and we became accidental best friends. His extended family had experienced significant oppression but instead of being bitter are the most loving, generous, welcoming family. I could not have been more blessed to be adopted by them. I became grateful for Jotham as partner as he truly is “a man in the middle” as an Arab Israeli loving people on both sides of the conflict.
Because our family lives all over the world and we were in the middle of a war, we decided instead of having our people come to us to celebrate our love we would go to them. Next thing we knew we were making memories from Chicago, Munich, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Nairobi, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and more. We had to run to a bomb shelter on our honeymoon. And our celebration on Mt. Carmel in Israel brought our Palestinians, Ultraorthodox Jews, Arab Christians, Atheists, Messianic Believers, Druze, and international friends all together for a family style picnic where everyone brought food made with love from their home culture to share.
Worldwide
I have led train-the-trainer initiatives in places as unique as the border of war torn Ukraine and Poland, burgeoning Singapore, and the villages of Bujumbura Burundi.
Today
I moved back to the States with a deep conviction that working for healing is my purpose. I use my global experiences in high-risk environments to help communities, organizations, teams, and leaders flourish even under challenging circumstances.
Kate’s Certifications
People Development Certifications
Masters of Public Health | Certifications in Global Health Leadership and Health Systems Administration
Bachelors of Social Work | Not-for Profit Minor
GiANT Worldwide
At Flourishing Lifeway, we're proud to collaborate with GiANT Worldwide, utilizing their innovative tools and software to empower leaders of all kinds. GiANT Worldwide is a technology-forward provider of leadership and employee development tools. Kate is certified as a GiANT Guide, 5 Voices facilitator, 100X Leader facilitator, and coaching .
Extra tidbits about me:
Favorite type of project: Any project that elevates local leaders (instead of outsiders) to solve their communities’ problems
Favorite cuisine: South Korean, Indian, and Ethiopian! Please and thank you!
When I’m not working I’m: enjoying heart talks over tea with friends or soaking in a new culture
I learned to drive on dirt roads in four-wheel drive in Kenya’s game parks where the only rule was don’t hit the animals.
I am nurturing my inner child Little Katie Girl who loved to twirl in pretty dresses on stage and am currently in the Mrs. USA ICON pageant, representing Pembroke Township, because there is no community I would be more proud to represent.
I am a firm believer that a cup of tea makes every day better.
Check out how I help leaders, organizations, and communities.
“Kate has a gift of listening and clarifying the need of the organization/group and creating a tailored plan to address that need. She is quick to tune in to culturally sensitive nuances of the group. Kate is very organized. She is an excellent communicator both in presentation of the difficult material such as trauma as well as in leading a team.”
– Olya Pavlishina M.S., LMFT, Founder + Therapist at Integrity Counseling
Kate’s Resources
Kate's favorite resources span a myriad of topics, including personal growth, leadership, mental health, and organizational development. These curated selections offer valuable insights, inspiration, and practical strategies for individuals and organizations seeking to thrive in today's complex world.
Get in touch.
Interested in working with Kate at Flourishing Lifeway? Book a free 30-minute discovery call or send her a message here.