Kate Trompetter - Speaker & Facilitator

Kate Trompetter speaks about what it takes for people to create meaningful change together - especially when the problems are complex, the relationships matter, and there is no easy answer.

A facilitator, coach, and systems-change practitioner, Kate has spent her career working alongside leaders, organizations, and communities tackling the kinds of challenges that can't be solved by one person, one program, or one really good strategic plan. About 80% of her work happens in the community that raised her, giving her an unusually close-up view of what change looks like over time: where it takes hold, where it gets stuck, and what helps people keep going.

Kate brings that lived experience to the stage. She makes big ideas about leadership, systems, relationships, power, and collective change feel human and useful, weaving together stories from the field, research, humor, and the occasional uncomfortable truth.

Her talks aren't designed to leave people impressed by the speaker. They're designed to leave people thinking differently about themselves, one another, and what they might be capable of doing together.

Topics Kate Speaks About

Change is a Group Project
Why our biggest challenges can't be solved by individual heroes - and what it takes to build the collective capacity for change that lasts.

Relationships Are Infrastructure
Why trust, connection, and belonging aren't the “soft stuff,” but essential conditions for leadership, collaboration, and systems change.

Hard and Hopeful
How to tell the truth about what isn't working without becoming resigned to it - and why hope is a practice, not a personality trait.

Leading Beyond Yourself
What changes when leadership becomes less about having the answers and more about creating the conditions for other people to contribute, grow, and lead.

The People Closest to the Problem
What becomes possible when we stop designing change for people and start building it with them.

What You Can Expect

Kate's style is warm, candid, thoughtful, participatory, and grounded in the real world. She takes the work seriously without taking herself too seriously and believes laughter and learning belong in the same room. Every engagement is shaped around the people in front of her. Whether she's delivering a keynote, facilitating an interactive session, or designing a longer learning experience, the goal is the same: create something people don't just hear, but carry back into how they lead, relate, and work together.

Keynotes • Conference Sessions • Leadership Events • Workshops • Moderated Conversations