Kate E Stephenson

MA, ACC

You’ve come to my bio to find out more about my story, but really, I am interested in yours. My life’s work has been helping others discover, capture, and create their own stories. I use the plural there because each person has not just one but many stories. It is the intersection of these stories that brought me to coaching.

I started my career as an editor with an eye on one day becoming the next Jackie O or Toni Morrison of publishing. Authors often joke that their editor is their best friend and their therapist—but really a better word is coach. I’ve coached dozens of authors through the publishing process, helping them self-publish and court publishing companies.

Then, one day, a friend asked me to proofread her resume. In the end, I completely rewrote it, reframing the document to reflect not only her skills but also her professional character and unique value proposition. This reframing became the bedrock of my career services business. In order to do that, I started to ask questions that many clients had never heard before, much less thought about. Questions like:

If you could lock up all of your doubts and fears in a box and shut the box away in the deepest recesses of the attic of your mind, what would you want to do with your career/your life? 

If you walked into your perfect job today, what would it feel and look like for you? 

If you asked your favorite colleague or manager, what are the five words they would use to describe you?

After posing these questions to a longtime client, she asked me, “Kate, have you considered offering coaching as a service?”

Gracefully taking the hint, I leaned into the suggestion. This eventually led me to participate in the Playing Big facilitators training with Tara Mohr, where I realized coach training was more for my own edification than anyone else’s. I had been successfully coaching people through life, career, and project goals for over a decade—I just wasn’t aware that was what I was doing. In helping others to tell their stories, I first had to help them get clear on who they saw in the mirror and what it was they wanted to reflect to the rest of the world. I innately felt that when we clear ourselves of anxiety and make space to hear the gentle voice of our true desires, something amazing happens—the path forward becomes clear.

Using every resource in my toolbox, I am here to partner with you in dreaming, discovering, and designing the future that you want. I believe that the key to designing this future is understanding the pillars upon which you are building it. I call these the pillars of your personhood. In our sessions, I employ these 5 Ps to help you understand your own pillars better: Perception, Perspective, Priority, Purpose, and Practice.

We are all challenged by setbacks, breakdowns, uncertainty, inertia, and immobility at some point in our lives. Engaging your power to expand your perception, broaden your perspective, and appropriately prioritize will help you to identify and live into your purpose through your daily practice. I look forward to helping you speak and live into your story. You can find out more about me and my coaching philosophy by visiting: https://www.YourPersonhood.com

Here’s What My Clients Are Saying: 

Kate has coached me through my job search. I had a lot of anxiety and she just would make a couple of poignant statements and quickly made me believe in myself and those fears were diminished.

Eleanora Sottilaro

Working with KEMPS was a wonderful experience! Kate was knowledgeable, present, dedicated, and had a way of asking the right questions to get me as a client feeling empowered, clear, and confident.

Cornelia Oancea

I started career counseling and life coaching at a time where I was second-guessing myself a lot. Through working with Kate I gained confidence in my path and was able to narrow down a career path that aligned with my values at this moment in my life. Her sessions reassured me that I have the knowledge and power inside of me. It’s a matter of asking the right questions and being honest with yourself which she helps draws out of you. After working with Kate I was able to land a dream job in a field that I often overlooked yet happens to be the perfect match for me. Thank you Kate!

Lindsey Silvera