About

Hi, I'm Kat — a creative career coach and writer living in San Francisco.

What I love

  • helping people find where meaning & money meet — then design a uniquely creative, fulfilling life.

  • offering the neuroscience of creativity training that should be taught everywhere. But especially in art, design, writing, film, music, and creative workplaces.

  • human beings. We are intrinsically worthy and creative.

My values

  • authenticity, creativity, curiosity, depth, wholeness

  • I stand with Black Lives Matter, against systemic racism and classism. I have pledged to speak and act in ways that reduce racial & economic inequity and increase the empowerment of BIPOC+ and LGBTQIA+ communities.

  • collaboration, compassion, presence, transformation

Snapshots of my approach

  • Shift from black-and-white thinking (“Should I stay or should I go?”) to a Pantone color spectrum of possibilities.

  • When you level up, you need new & different tools.

  • Your parents have stories about what career means. What are yours?

  • It’s the 2020s. Your historical & technological context is quietly crucial (says the art historian and Silicon Valley native).

  • So many creativity best practices are counter-intuitive.

  • “You’re like a… career therapist.” — clients

Education, certifications,
ego adornments

  • Professional Certified Coach: International Coaching Federation; Academy of Coaching Excellence

  • Guest Speaker: MFA in Design, California College of the Arts (CCA)

  • Trainee: Neuroscience of Change, Coaches Rising

  • Practitioner: Somatic Meditation (1,000+ retreat hours)

  • Alumna: Leadership Intensive, Seth Godin’s altMBA

  • Crisis Counselor: Crisis Text Line

  • PhD dropout: Art History, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

  • MA: Art History, Institute of Fine Arts, NYU

  • BA: Art History, University of California, San Diego

Gratitude gallery

Dad

My dad has taught me creativity can be poured into any vessel: small businesses, abalone diving, navigating American life as a Korean immigrant, guitar, singing, used car restoration, cactus and succulent gardens, the perfect 48-hour brisket...

Mom

In 1970s Seoul, my mom studied ceramics and loved taking half-frame photos with her Olympus-Pen EES-2. In 1990s San Jose she scoured community center pamphlets for affordable classes in art, dance, music and writing, enrolling me in as many as possible.

Audrey

My six-years-younger sister was my first “client” — our parents decided I would oversee her academics and career, for life. Seeing who she is and where she shines kicked off my 10,000+ hours of practice. What about payment, you ask? Not holding my breath! :)

Artists & Art Historians

Art history taught me the difference between looking (with eyes) and really seeing (with heart-mind). I also learned how to make meaning across time. Studying artists — the light-bearers, rule-breakers of the world — changes you. I left academia, but can see my clients and connect the dots better, having been there.

After-School Teachers & Youth

Upon leaving curating, I taught 2nd/3rd graders after-school in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. Every day, my brain broke and heart burst simply being with my deeply kind colleagues and the youth. "The first half of life is learning to be an adult. The second half is learning to be a child." —Pablo Picasso

Seth Godin

Yes, working for Seth made me better at marketing and business. But it’s the unexpected side-effects: keeping integrity and intrepid spirit intact during late-stage capitalism; healing in a generative vs. punitive workplace; thinking in sketchbooks vs. stone tablets; realizing warmth and generosity is the best business model.

Where my clients create