About Katie.
Katie is passionate about asking questions that build relationships and mutual understanding, and that lead to development, change and growth. She is committed to seeing individuals and groups flourish. Katie brings extensive and eclectic professional and life experience to her collaboration with clients, having worked in a variety of industries from international NGOs, nonprofits, and higher education to the restaurant and catering business, both in the US and abroad.
Katie founded Open Gate Solutions in 2020 while completing her career as Vice President and Secretary of the Corporation at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), The Episcopal Church’s largest and strongest seminary. While at VTS, Katie built and led the human resources department and managed multiple departments and both taught and provided expertise on governance. Katie’s accomplishments at VTS include designing and implementing a governance restructuring; designing and overseeing strategic plan implementation and reporting; pushing for and bringing about diversity, equity and inclusion training for staff and trustees; advocating for the staff voice and view; creating and growing a culture of professional development and attaining funding for continuing education.
Katie sits on the board of the In Trust Center for Theological Schools where she serves as chair of the governance committee. She speaks French fluently, gets by in conversational Spanish, and is a published author.
Katie holds a BA from Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from George Mason University. Her professional credentials include certification in organization consulting and change leadership (Georgetown) and in French gastronomy from the Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Française. Katie is also a Society for Human Resources Management senior certified professional.
Some of Katie’s favorite activities and places include gardening, brewing beer with her husband, reading on the beach in Ocracoke, knitting on the front porch in Sorrento, Maine, and cooking just about anything anywhere.
“Katie's coaching has helped me feel less overwhelmed, more focused, and a bit braver as I live into a new role with significant responsibilities in strategic leadership and oversight. She brings relevant, accessible resources to our meetings and provides supportive insight that has consistently helped me change my daily practice for the better.”
— Kyle Oliver, EdD - Head of Learning Media, Learning Forte
“Katie brings a deep understanding of governance complexities and organizations systems which informs her leadership. I am truly grateful for her wise counsel and consultation.”
— Amy Kardash - President, In Trust Center
“Individual coaching with Katie has been a game-changer in my ministry. She’s tailored our work to my specific context and needs, held me accountable to the goals I’ve set, and taught me all the things about leading a vestry that I never learned in Seminary. She has deep knowledge of the Episcopal Church, experience in board leadership and governance, and is an indispensable member of the support network that makes me a successful Rector. She is particularly gifted at asking questions that make me think more broadly, more creatively, and more practically about the work I do.”
— The Rev. Annie Pierpoint Mertz – Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church