Bold in life.
Bold in business.
Do what matters to you
and enjoy yourself.
Executive, personal, and business coaching for people using their powers for good.
I work with leaders and visionaries.
My clients have included biotech, AI, tough tech, fintech, and climate tech founders, CEOs and CTOs leading the way in data analytics and clean energy, media entrepreneurs, Hollywood creatives and New York producers, activists, dedicated parents, real-estate mavens, talented coaches, MIT entrepreneurship educators, senior leads at Meta, Amazon, Toast, and US News, opera singers, and non-profit executive directors.
Through our work together, they have:
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Transformed their impact-forward businesses, bringing on partners and clients they're thrilled to work with.
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Raised millions of dollars.
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Navigated the ups and downs of the startup journey with more self-awareness and less stress.
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Gone from burned-out and stagnant in their creativity to in-flow and making significant money.
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Expanded their emotional capacity and improved every relationship in their lives.
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Created bigger, more ambitious visions for their companies.
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Worked through team and co-founder challenges.
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Been more present and joyful with their spouses and kids.
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Felt inspired and on fire in their business and personal lives.
"Kathleen is a force of nature – both a personal example of fortitude, creativity and perseverance, and also a gifted communicator who can approach every individual with compassion and uncommon insight."
– Catherine Halaby, Head of Entertainment, North America at Tik Tok
How We Work Together
Entrepreneurs, Executives, Creatives –
The agenda is you – what truly matters to you, how you want to feel day-to-day, what you want to create in this one life.
We go far deeper than tactics and strategies. We expand your self-awareness, you make better decisions personally and professionally, you communicate with yourself and others in a new way, you bring electricity and alignment to your relationships, and you execute on your deepest dreams.
Our work together requires your self-investment and self-commitment. I work with most clients for one to three years, with some in duos for six months, and with some for 1-2 day perspective-shifting intensives. Fees start at $8,000.
We speak over the phone and zoom, or you come to me in the San Juan mountains of Colorado for in-person coaching experiences.
My coaching is for people who are serious about living at full volume. If you are making – or are craving to make – the most of your human experience for your own benefit and the benefit of others, let's talk about working together.
If that's not you quite yet, I have a network of extraordinary fellow coaches – get in touch, and I'm delighted to refer you.
Teams and Organizations –
Nurturing a collaborative, successful team is an everyday practice. I have enjoyed working with teams to not just help them correct problematic dynamics that have developed, but guide them toward a culture of respect, openness, and alignment.
And I have loved creating multi-year programs for organizations including TheLi.st and MIT's delta v entrepreneurship accelerator. Read more about the pioneering results of the MIT delta v program here and here.
Right now, in 2024, I'm choosing to focus on my work with individuals and those who travel to me in Colorado. If you're interested in a transformative off-site for your team in the extraordinary environment of Telluride, CO -- during which we reveal blind spots, create understanding, bring about flow through more productive communication, create alignment on vision and strategy, and/or find new possibilities in each team member's strengths -- get in touch.
"I feel so grateful to have taken a big step forward in my professional life with Kathleen's support. I have known a lot of coaches, and Kathleen, you are absolutely amazing. I really appreciate the depth that you wade into with your clients."
– Carly Chase, VP, U.S. News and Adjunct Professor of Business, Columbia Business School
What I'd like you to know about me
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Before founding an arts/tech startup and after a brief career as an opera singer, I was an acoustical engineer. Part art and part science, acoustics is a beautiful profession. What I loved most about it was the art part -- the art of listening, and creating environments for others to listen, feel, speak, and sing.
Now as a coach, I get to practice that art every day: I'm a professional listener. And I create a coaching container for each client in which they can say everything they need to say.
I was awarded "Most Inquisitive" by my 2nd grade summer camp counselors. At the time, I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or a slight! Over the years I've leaned into it, it's something I love about myself, and it's a superpower I bring to coaching with clients. I listen deeply, and I don't just ask questions -- I ask the questions that get you where you want to go.
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I've been in pain every day for the past 13 years. One day in 2011, I woke up with painful pressure in my head, and it has never gone away. Some days I feel sad and frustrated by it, but it has been one of the biggest gifts in my life. It led me on a journey of self-exploration and well-being, working with over 50 physical and mental health practitioners of different backgrounds and methodologies.
What I learned from that exploration forms the backbone of my coaching. And, continuing to enjoy the shit out of my life in the face of pain requires perseverance and resilience. Those are essential qualities for success, and I enjoy helping my clients – particularly startup founders – cultivate them.
I'm a proponent of fully engaged living. What is that? It's feeling it all -- experiencing all that life has to offer, wonderful and challenging. It's doing everything you really want to do. It's loving deeply, exploring and adventuring, and letting your values -- not somebody else's -- guide your actions. It's going beyond the binary -- good and bad, right and wrong -- because life isn't binary. It's having ridiculous fun. It's keeping your eyes wide open as you cannonball into the water.
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After living my whole life in large cities (Dallas, Boston, NYC, LA), I moved four years ago with my partner and son to Ridgway, a gorgeous tiny mountain town in Colorado. It feels like a bold choice to be here -- to live at 7000 feet, to choose a more serene pace over the hustle of the city. To me, being here -- fresh air, connection with our neighbors, outdoor fun, brighter stars -- is the height of luxury, and I'm grateful. When I work with you, if you are not already living your definition of the height of luxury, we uncover what that is, and then you go create it.
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Some additional cred:
- My self-awareness program for MIT’s delta v accelerator produced the first statistically significant data showing the benefit of self-awareness techniques for entrepreneurs.
- I have a BA from Harvard, an MM from New England Conservatory of Music, an MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from MIT Sloan.
- I have written for or have been featured in these pubs:
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I believe our culture of self-reliance and do-it-all-yourself hustle has gotten out of hand. If you want to take risks, say what you think, listen to your gut, and build habits so you can be 100% yourself in every room you walk into, a team is a good thing.
The most successful CEOs, artists, and athletes have coaches on their personal teams, assisting them with their businesses, their thinking, their internal landscape, and more. Reach out if you want me on yours.
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“Working with Kathleen has been so helpful to me. If my life was a swords and sandals epic, I'd owe her some sort of debt of honor or my best horse.”
– Aubry D’Arminio
Get emails from me
Each week, I send out a few substantive coaching emails to small groups of 5-10 people on my mailing list.
It is a way for me to serve you with depth because I have each person in mind as I write.
Would you like to be on my list? You'll receive an email every 1-2 months. Add your name and email here -->