MEET KATIE
Katie, a 7x award-winning humanitarian and visionary founder, has raised millions for her groundbreaking charities and impactful startup. She excels at leading teams through challenges, guiding them to align purpose with work and overcome adversity to drive impactful results in their organizations.
MEET KATIE
Katie is the Founder & Executive Director of Global Orphan Prevention, an international nonprofit that works to end orphanage trafficking and child sex trafficking through education, leadership, and economic development.
This is her story.
About Katie
An engaging storyteller, Katie shares captivating and funny anecdotes from her experiences, such as walking pumas in Bolivian jungles, navigating teams through the aftermath of the Nepal earthquakes, and encountering E. Coli in remote Asian villages.
She is an inspirational speaker, using her life stories as metaphors to motivate her audience. Her talks focus on discovering one’s purpose, inspiring leaders and employees to engage in purposeful work, adapting to change, fostering employee-led innovation, and building a lasting legacy.
She is an inspirational speaker, using her life stories as metaphors to motivate her audience. Her talks focus on discovering one’s purpose, inspiring leaders and employees to engage in purposeful work, adapting to change, fostering employee-led innovation, and building a lasting legacy.
Personal Life
Katie began life with early childhood trauma; born into uncertainty and chaos. At just six-days-old, she faced a heartbreaking moment when her birth mother, grappling with significant mental health challenges, abandoned her in an office building.
However, Katie’s life took a hopeful turn when she was adopted by nurturing parents. These parents, belonging to a Chicago legacy family, showered her with the love, support, and resources necessary for personal growth and to reach her full potential. They instilled in her the belief that she could achieve anything.
Tragedy struck again at the age of 20 when Katie witnessed her birth mother’s death from multiple sclerosis, a condition that left her immobile and confined to a wheelchair. This profound experience made Katie acutely aware of her own mortality and the privileges she had been afforded in life. It sparked a deep motivation within her to explore the world, seeking out areas of need and ways to make a positive impact. Determined to also leave a legacy, she dedicated herself to creating a more beautiful and compassionate world for future generations.
Tragedy struck again at the age of 20 when Katie witnessed her birth mother’s death from multiple sclerosis, a condition that left her immobile and confined to a wheelchair. This profound experience made Katie acutely aware of her own mortality and the privileges she had been afforded in life. It sparked a deep motivation within her to explore the world, seeking out areas of need and ways to make a positive impact. Determined to also leave a legacy, she dedicated herself to creating a more beautiful and compassionate world for future generations.
Growing Up
She spent her early years in the suburb of St. Charles, near Chicago, and pursued her undergraduate studies at Colorado Mesa University. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications, focusing on TV Production and Public Relations. Later, she obtained a Master’s in Education (M.Ed) with teaching qualifications from Grand Canyon University. Her teaching career has taken her to middle and high schools in Vietnam, Scotland, and Colorado.
Currently based in Denver, Colorado, her leisure time is filled with activities like snowboarding, wakeboarding, camping, hiking, sailing, participating in fundraising events, and writing narrative nonfiction.
award-Winning Charity
Katie is the founder and executive director of Compass Rose International (formally Global Orphan Prevention), a nonprofit organization internationally recognized for its efforts to uplift young women to navigate unique challenges like child trafficking and mental health, providing tools for resilience, confidence, and independence.
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The organization has been acknowledged for its significant social impact and awareness campaigns, receiving two Silver Awards in the 2021 Anthem Awards and both a Gold and a Silver in the 2022 Telly Awards. Since 2015, they have been consistently rated as a top nonprofit by Great Nonprofits and holds the Guidestar Gold Level Seal of Transparency.
Award-Winning Humanitarian
Katie recently received the Silver Award for Humanitarian Leader of the Year at the Anthem Awards, recognizing her social impact. Among the distinguished awardees were figures like the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, The Oprah Network, NASA, Charity:Water, Pulitzer, and more.
Her accolades also include the Millennial Changemaker of the Year in 2016, awarded for her response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes, the Denver Humanitarian Award in 2018, and the Who’s Who Young Alumni of the Year in 2020 from Colorado Mesa University.
For the past six years, Katie has been actively involved in Nepal and India, focusing on reducing child trafficking at its root. She has been working in the remote Himalayan villages of Nuwakot, Nepal, through her innovative INpowerment Centers.
Her humanitarian efforts extend across multiple continents, including South America (Bolivia), Africa (Tanzania), Asia (Nepal and Vietnam), and North America (United States).
About Katie
An engaging storyteller, Katie shares captivating and funny anecdotes from her experiences, such as walking pumas in Bolivian jungles, navigating teams through the aftermath of the Nepal earthquakes, and encountering E. Coli in remote Asian villages.
She is an inspirational speaker, using her life stories as metaphors to motivate her audience. Her talks focus on discovering one’s purpose, inspiring leaders and employees to engage in purposeful work, adapting to change, fostering employee-led innovation, and building a lasting legacy.
She is an inspirational speaker, using her life stories as metaphors to motivate her audience. Her talks focus on discovering one’s purpose, inspiring leaders and employees to engage in purposeful work, adapting to change, fostering employee-led innovation, and building a lasting legacy.
Personal Life
Katie began life with early childhood trauma; born into uncertainty and chaos. At just six-days-old, she faced a heartbreaking moment when her birth mother, grappling with significant mental health challenges, abandoned her in an office building.
However, Katie’s life took a hopeful turn when she was adopted by nurturing parents. These parents, belonging to a Chicago legacy family, showered her with the love, support, and resources necessary for personal growth and to reach her full potential. They instilled in her the belief that she could achieve anything.
Tragedy struck again at the age of 20 when Katie witnessed her birth mother’s death from multiple sclerosis, a condition that left her immobile and confined to a wheelchair. This profound experience made Katie acutely aware of her own mortality and the privileges she had been afforded in life. It sparked a deep motivation within her to explore the world, seeking out areas of need and ways to make a positive impact. Determined to also leave a legacy, she dedicated herself to creating a more beautiful and compassionate world for future generations.
Tragedy struck again at the age of 20 when Katie witnessed her birth mother’s death from multiple sclerosis, a condition that left her immobile and confined to a wheelchair. This profound experience made Katie acutely aware of her own mortality and the privileges she had been afforded in life. It sparked a deep motivation within her to explore the world, seeking out areas of need and ways to make a positive impact. Determined to also leave a legacy, she dedicated herself to creating a more beautiful and compassionate world for future generations.
Growing Up
She spent her early years in the suburb of St. Charles, near Chicago, and pursued her undergraduate studies at Colorado Mesa University. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications, focusing on TV Production and Public Relations. Later, she obtained a Master’s in Education (M.Ed) with teaching qualifications from Grand Canyon University. Her teaching career has taken her to middle and high schools in Vietnam, Scotland, and Colorado.
Currently based in Denver, Colorado, her leisure time is filled with activities like snowboarding, wakeboarding, camping, hiking, sailing, participating in fundraising events, and writing narrative nonfiction.
award-Winning Charity
Katie is the founder and executive director of Compass Rose International (formally Global Orphan Prevention), a nonprofit organization internationally recognized for its efforts to uplift young women to navigate unique challenges like child trafficking and mental health, providing tools for resilience, confidence, and independence.
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The organization has been acknowledged for its significant social impact and awareness campaigns, receiving two Silver Awards in the 2021 Anthem Awards and both a Gold and a Silver in the 2022 Telly Awards. Since 2015, they have been consistently rated as a top nonprofit by Great Nonprofits and holds the Guidestar Gold Level Seal of Transparency.
Award-Winning Humanitarian
Katie recently received the Silver Award for Humanitarian Leader of the Year at the Anthem Awards, recognizing her social impact. Among the distinguished awardees were figures like the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, The Oprah Network, NASA, Charity:Water, Pulitzer, and more.
Her accolades also include the Millennial Changemaker of the Year in 2016, awarded for her response to the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes, the Denver Humanitarian Award in 2018, and the Who’s Who Young Alumni of the Year in 2020 from Colorado Mesa University.
For the past six years, Katie has been actively involved in Nepal and India, focusing on reducing child trafficking at its root. She has been working in the remote Himalayan villages of Nuwakot, Nepal, through her innovative INpowerment Centers.
Her humanitarian efforts extend across multiple continents, including South America (Bolivia), Africa (Tanzania), Asia (Nepal and Vietnam), and North America (United States).
CLIENTS INCLUDE:
CLIENTS INCLUDE:
