About me: Kate

Born in New Jersey, educated in Philadelphia and London, and shaped by New York — I'm currently enjoying life in Los Angeles.

I'm an amateur photographer turned professional designer with a knack for seeing the big picture. I believe good design starts with making people feel heard, regardless of their title, industry, or experience. My skillset is broad by nature and always expanding by choice.

My love affair with design started on a high school field trip to Ogilvy NY. I got a peek behind the curtain, and I was hooked.

Outside of work, I'm a shameless nerd. I dress as an elf on the regular, make fantasy props as a hobby, and crush at Buffy the Vampire Slayer trivia.

— Kate

Keep scrolling to learn more about how I work and lead.

I Listen First.

I've spent over a decade working with teams who were brilliant, probably overwhelmed, and looking for help. The last thing they need is someone coming in with grand ideas that ignore the work they’ve already put in, and the constraints they’re dealing with.

So before I start tugging at anchor points, I listen. I ask questions. I listen some more.

Nine times out of ten the problem isn't the work. It's that someone with the right instincts wasn’t empowered to speak them.

My job, before anything else, is to find those people and make space for them. It’s the right thing to do. But it’s how you nail the brief on the first try.

I Build with People

I'm not just talking about "collaboration."

At Meta, something wasn’t making sense to me. Designers were being staffed reactively, based on availability, not growth. Not Fit. It was also arriving at random stages, often too late, leaving little room for anything beyond surface-level execution.

So, I built a system worthy of our top-shelf talent.

Designers got to projects early. Ones that used their minds as well as their taste. They could collaborate more seamlessly, with clearer roles and more support. The work got better. Designers became more valuable to their partners. Careers changed.

I may not always utilize my Photoshop skills, but I am always designing. My mind visualizes processes and systems like a map. One where the people aren't just travelers. They're the landmarks.

I Give a Shit.

Culture isn't a perk. It's your environment and it should be cared for. People bring their energy, their history to work. The bring their capacity to take a risk or play it safe. The culture you build determines which version of them shows up. You don’t give a shit about your partners? Guess what you’ll get in return.

At Meta I’ve organized employees and their families in the New York Pride March. I’ve volunteered to lead the branding of a global LGBTQ employee summit attended by our COO. I've fought for designers to get access to work that would help their careers. None of that was in my job description.

All of it mattered.

Not giving a shit, delivering, moving on? That’s boring. Caring, building relationships, creating culture?

That’s the kind of work that keeps you going.