Courageous Steps

02/22/2026

I want to share something personal.

Last week, I paused a brand I built 16 years ago. It wasn’t a business in the traditional sense. It was the container for thousands of hours of advocacy work, leadership, and relationships.

At the same time, I will be one credit away from finishing my PhD in May 2026 and completely out of money.

This isn’t a dramatic announcement. It’s a defining moment. A right versus right decision.

Do I finish what I started, or do I choose financial stability and simplify my path back into traditional employment?

On Substack, I wrote about what it feels like to stand inside that tension. About identity, sunk costs, institutional barriers, and what courage actually looks like when it’s quiet.

If you’ve ever faced a decision where both options cost something real, this might resonate.

https://open.substack.com/pub/courageoussteps/p/the-courage-to-pause?r=15guoi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

11/25/2025

Lately I have been learning what it means to return to the person I was a few years ago—the version of myself who felt grounded, steady, and connected to who I am at my core. After years of moving, navigating hard seasons, and adapting to whatever life demanded, I did not realize how far I had drifted from that version.

So I am doing the slow work of coming home to myself again. Re-centering. Reclaiming. Letting my values and my wellbeing lead instead of urgency or survival mode. It feels like remembering something important that I had set down without noticing.

I am finding my way back, and it feels like healing.

Please read my Substack post to learn more:

https://open.substack.com/pub/courageoussteps/p/from-maslow-to-cultivating-the-land?r=15guoi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

11/24/2025

Into the Fog of 2025

This year has felt like I was walking—hesitantly and uncertainly—into a dense fog bank of risk and reckoning, unlike any I’ve experienced in my 47 years. Planning and projection were swept aside like debris in a tornado. The structures I once trusted have shifted.

Those who appear unscathed often seem disconnected from the realities of working, living, and giving back to our communities. The cognitive dissonance is striking. Many of us feel like we’re the ones lost in the fog.

I have a new post over on Substack that invites you to pause, reflect, and ask:
Who are we in a world that resists clarity?
What does it mean to lead when the path is obscured and certainty is no longer a reliable compass?

✍️ My writing is available without charge. The deeper interpersonal and leadership‑development exercises live behind a paywall, and your subscription directly supports my PhD research and ongoing work in systems and organizations.

➡️ If you're navigating ambiguity, seeking leadership with integrity, or ready to walk the path together — I invite you to read, subscribe, and engage.

https://open.substack.com/pub/courageoussteps/p/walking-the-fog?r=15guoi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

A Leadership Reckoning Rooted in Land and Loss

11/21/2025

This is one of the most important pieces I’ve written.

Not because it’s political—but because it explains the developmental roots that may inform politics.

If you only read one long-form essay this season, let it be this one.

Click Here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/courageoussteps/p/the-human-developmental-stages-we?r=15guoi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

11/17/2025

Today is World Prematurity Day. 💜

This day began in 2008 when parent organizations across the world came together and insisted that families with premature infants deserved to be seen and heard.

Prematurity reshapes everything — identity, relationships, and the entire path of parenthood. It also sparks a form of leadership many families never expect: NICU Parent Leadership.

I wrote today about how NICU Parent Leaders partner with clinicians, governments, industry, and global experts to strengthen neonatal and maternal health systems.

If this speaks to you, I invite you to read the full piece and share it with at least five people. Community is how change grows.

Substack Blog:

https://open.substack.com/pub/courageoussteps/p/world-prematurity-day-2025?r=15guoi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

11/13/2025

Hi, I’m Katie — founder of Courageous Steps.

This work didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with life cracking me wide open.
A NICU stay. A birth that didn’t go as planned.
And a quiet, persistent invitation to rebuild—not just my life, but how we lead.

Courageous Steps was born from that space of reflection, resilience, and rebirth.

Today, it’s a space for leaders who know something is missing in the way we work.
It’s for the ones asking,
“Where did the human go in all of this?”

🔹 At Courageous Steps, I help restore humanity in leadership—placing connection, empathy, and wholeness back at the center of how we lead and work.

🔹 I help cultivate inner growth for outer impact—because your presence, clarity, and emotional intelligence shape the culture around you.

🔹 And I help co-create the future through community—inviting everyone, no matter their title, to help build more inclusive, courageous, and purpose-driven systems.

Whether you’re navigating change, feeling the cracks in your workplace culture, or simply craving something more human—this is a space for you.

Let’s slow down.
Reflect.
And take the next courageous step—together.

💬 Learn more or schedule a free 30-minute connection call at:
🌐 www.courageoussteps.org

👇 I’d love to hear from you in the comments:
What does human-centered leadership mean to you?

05/21/2024

I teach part-time in the School of Undergraduate Studies, Organizational Leadership & Human Skills Program, and Management Program at Golden Gate University, as well as engage in leadership development and management consulting.

On Saturday, I was honored to receive the 2024 Outstanding Adjunct Award for the Management and Organizational Leadership & Human Skills Program at Golden Gate University! 🌟🎓

Dean Nate Hinerman’s enthusiastic presentation was filled with genuine awe and gratitude. He praised my Chair, Dr. Jeffrey Yergler, for being an “emotional and wonderfully warm and engaging and energetic voice.” Then, he described me as a “consummate team player,” always seeking ways to grow the program and offer support. Jeffrey Yergler even called me the “heart” of the program. ❤️

Being part of this team, where leaders foster a culture of high engagement and collaboration, makes it easy to give my best.

To my leadership, colleagues, and students at , thank you for the honor of serving with and for you. Let’s keep growing our Management and Organizational Leadership Programs. Organizations need GGU’s unique model and 123-year history of excellence. Rather than reducing the need for degree programs, they should adopt GGU’s educational model. It’s our secret sauce! 🍀✨

03/17/2024

My 14-year-old son has aspirations of becoming a YouTube sensation, particularly in the realm of video gaming, which is already heavily populated. Over the years, we've discussed the importance of identifying unmet needs and serving our local community. Recently, while out with his dad in , he came across a pet food pantry downtown. This sparked an idea, and he promptly rushed home to gather some cat food to contribute. Within a few hours, the cat food was gone, presumably taken by a family in need with cats in the Rogers-Bentonville area.

Today, he returned home with a similar mission, this time armed with his dad's iPhone and a newfound desire to start a YouTube channel focused on community service, specifically for pets, under the handle on . While we can afford to purchase a few bags of cat food at in , it's evident that the demand surpasses what this teenager can afford on his own. As a family that loves both cats and dogs, he's established this channel to cater to the needs of both types of pets.

1) Please consider subscribing to this YouTube channel, whether you're nearby or far away. We'll use it as an example of the impact of social media.

2) If you're local and aware of the location of this pet food pantry, please consider contributing to it. Surprise my son with a community effort dedicated to feeding local pets.

3) Create your own pet pantry. Even if you're not in our state, every community can benefit from having a pet pantry. Our furry companions not only alleviate loneliness but are also indispensable members of many households.

Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/

08/26/2023

A courageous 15-year-old whose voice stuns listeners. She overcomes a stomach disability and G-tube to sing beautifully.

André Rieu & his Johann Strauss Orchestra performing together with the 15-year-old Emma Kok, Voilà live on Vrijthof square in Maastricht. For tour dates visi...

05/14/2023

How Preemie Mom's are Chosen, Erma Bombeck.

https://www.wholeheartedandbrave.com/inspirations-for-the-journey