About the Author

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Dr. Kate Vawter a leadership expert who makes you feel seen, called in, and maybe just a little bit roasted…in the best way. Equal parts seasoned facilitator, sharp academic, and deeply human coach, she’s on a mission to help you lead people like actual people so you can build trust, connection, and results without burning yourself out or losing your humanity.

Kate is a proud “Triple Devil,” having earned degrees in Marketing (BS), Public Administration (MPA), and a Doctorate in Leadership and Innovation (EdD) from Arizona State University. She designed and taught courses ranging from Introduction to Leadership to Advanced Quantitative Research Methods. Her doctoral research focused on the role of rapport in student success, and that same insight into human connection forms the foundation of her work with teams and organizations today.

As the founder of Ascent Solutions, Kate has delivered leadership workshops to more than 3,000 professionals across the state of Arizona. Her consulting and coaching practice helps organizations grow healthier cultures by putting relationships at the center of how they work. Whether she’s working with a new manager navigating their first tough conversation, or a seasoned executive team trying to rebuild trust, Kate brings a blend of strategy, empathy, and straight talk that cuts through the noise and creates momentum.

Her leadership training started long before she ever set foot on a college campus. Kate grew up in a house where the emotional temperature could shift without warning, and part of surviving meant learning to read those shifts before they happened. She spent her early life tracking the emotions and behaviors of the adults around her, learning to scan the room for signs of calm or chaos. That vigilance became one of her greatest superpowers as a facilitator. It’s what makes her able to read a room, sense what’s really going on beneath the surface, and create a space where people feel safe.

Her early career was shaped by navigating leadership without training or a safety net. That scrappy, self-taught resilience shaped her empathy. She understands what it feels like to be a leader in over your head, to pretend you know what you’re doing when you’re not sure, and to care deeply even when you’re not sure how to say the right thing.

Those experiences are baked into everything she teaches. Kate doesn’t believe in cookie-cutter leadership programs. She believes in context, compassion, and finding tools that actually work for your people. She’s trauma-informed, systems-literate, and deeply invested in helping managers understand that their ability to lead isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about showing up with integrity, curiosity, and just enough humor to keep things from getting too precarious.

She believes leadership is an evolving practice, not a destination. That it's okay to not have the perfect words right away, that feedback can be kind and clear. That trust is the currency of collaboration. And that sometimes the best thing you can do for your team is admit you don’t have it all figured out.

If you’re looking for a step-by-step system to turn your managers into flawless productivity machines, Kate probably isn’t the coach for you. But if you’re ready to help your people lead with more heart, more clarity, and a little less corporate nonsense, Dr. Kate Vawter is here for it.

You can find her on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkatevawter/