Translating complexity into results
Strategic Communications · Programs & Operations · Climate & Environment · AI-Native
Cathryn collaborates with mission-driven organizations at pivotal moments of growth, change, or inspiration — simplifying complexity, illuminating stories, and driving impactful change.
Cathryn makes complex, mission-critical work understood — and builds and runs the systems that deliver it. She built the Adaptation Fund's communications function from scratch as its funding grew roughly 75%, ran field operations with the Peace Corps in Niger, and worked science and policy at NOAA. Today she works AI-natively, building with the technology rather than bracing against it — most recently in SmartScape, a working AI tool for native landscaping, and SmartBash, a live eco-commerce store.
Cathryn has created executive messaging and aligned it across platforms, from social media to speaking engagements, and coached leaders and board members, many of them senior government officials, for high-stakes public appearances. She has worked closely with senior executives, including a World Bank Vice President and the head of NOAA's National Ocean Service, so she knows how leaders operate and what they need from their communications.
Cathryn's roots are in Oregon, Hawai'i, and Michigan, and she has traveled, lived, and worked around the world. She is fluent in French and Fulfulde, and proficient in Spanish. She's equally at home in rural America and the boardroom — a fluency that matters more than ever in a divided country.
Cathryn served in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa, working on environment, sustainability, and small-enterprise development. Her cozy grass hut became a memorable backdrop for her adventures, including an unexpected encounter with a spitting cobra during one rainy season.
Cathryn earned degrees from Smith College and Yale School of the Environment, along with a degree from Sciences Po Paris completed entirely in French.
With a rich background in broadcast, online, and print journalism, Cathryn is a gifted storyteller who knows how to engage audiences and convey powerful narratives. She is particularly gifted at creating visualizations of information and data, transforming complex concepts into compelling stories that resonate. Her experience includes:
Partner with Cathryn to simplify complex messages, tell powerful stories, manage complex programs, and move people to act.
