The Story Behind Her Formation
Everything I teach, I had to live first.
I created Her Formation for the woman I once needed to become.
A Letter From Kate
How Her Formation came to be.
For most of my life, I thought the answer was more discipline.
I thought if I could just work harder, achieve more, become fitter, stronger, more successful, more useful, and more valuable, I would eventually arrive at a place where I finally felt secure, confident, and at peace with myself. Every decision I made was filtered through the belief that I wasn't enough, that love had to be earned, that people would eventually leave, and that my worth depended on what I could achieve. From the outside, my life looked disciplined and successful. On the inside, I was being driven by fear, shame, and the exhausting need to prove that I mattered.
Beyond Coach Kate
Get to know the real me.
The parts that do not fit in a bio.
I don't think a list of accomplishments tells you much about a person outside of where they've studied. Yes, I've spent years investing in leadership programs, psychology, communication, certifications, coaching, and continuing education, but my greatest education has been my own life. I've been my own greatest case study, constantly learning, questioning, failing, rebuilding, healing, and applying everything I could get my hands on. I've lived this work long before I ever coached it, and that's the place I coach from today.
I'm originally from Connecticut, but Florida has been home since 2013, and these days I happily call St. Petersburg home. Before coaching, I was a makeup artist and a floral designer, and my third career became a strength and conditioning coach. Looking back, every season of my life had one thing in common. Whether I was doing makeup, arranging flowers, coaching athletes, or leading communities, I've always loved helping people feel seen, loved, encouraged, and more capable than they believed they were. I think one of my greatest gifts as a leader is seeing something in people before they see it in themselves, calling it out, and helping them become the person they were always capable of becoming.
I've been recording my podcast since 2019, and it's become my virtual diary. It captures some of the darkest, deepest, funniest, craziest, most humbling, and most defining moments of my life. If you listen long enough, you'll hear my journey unfold in real time through heartbreak, healing, faith, failure, growth, and everything in between. I never wanted to wait until I had everything figured out before sharing my story because I think there's something incredibly powerful about letting people witness the process of becoming.
My brain has never thought in straight lines. Dyslexia and ADHD made school incredibly challenging. I still stumble when reading out loud, and numbers are the absolute bane of my existence. Somehow, put me in front of a room with a microphone and I come alive. Public speaking has become one of my greatest joys. The same brain that struggles with reading and numbers is the one that's constantly dreaming, creating, building, and seeing possibilities that don't yet exist. I'm a big-picture visionary at heart, and once I believe in something, I become a little bit of a Tasmanian devil. I also have a pretty dark sense of humor because, let's be honest, you don't survive as much trauma as I have without learning to laugh. Growing up, I joke that I had about fifteen different personalities because I became really good at adapting to whatever environment I was in, which probably explains why I randomly break into Australian, British, Southern, or whatever accent my brain decides to use that day.
In 2023, I started a small Bible study called Faith & Fitness, never imagining it would eventually grow into a nonprofit organization. If you had met me years ago, B.C. (Before Christ), you would've never guessed this would become my life. Today, Jesus is my best friend, and I genuinely can't stop talking about Him. If Buddy the Elf had the same excitement about Jesus that he has about Christmas, that's probably the closest description of me. Founding Faith & Fitness has allowed me to combine everything I love most: sharing the Gospel, fitness, building community, serving others, eating great food, laughing a lot, and watching complete strangers become lifelong friends.
Outside of coaching, I'm weird, I'm funny, and I've fully embraced it. I'm a total girls' girl and will probably become your biggest hype person before we even know each other that well. Nothing makes me happier than watching the people I love win, reminding them of who they are when they've forgotten, and celebrating every milestone, big or small. I love beach walks, riding my bike, salsa dancing, CrossFit, Jiu-Jitsu, traveling, fast cars, trying things I have absolutely no business trying, and saying yes to adventures before I've fully thought them through. I've recently taken up golf, and while I'm definitely getting better, humility is still part of the process. I'm slightly germophobic, have a touch of closet OCD, I'm a complete Trader Joe's fanatic, a coffee snob through and through, absolutely obsessed with mini wiener dogs, and could probably spend hours talking about Jordan Peterson. I also get an unreasonable amount of satisfaction from doing laundry, making my white clothes even whiter, grocery shopping, and organizing things that probably don't need to be organized. You'll usually find me blasting worship music or country music while driving.
More than anything, I love people. I love serving others, building communities, asking meaningful questions, meeting people from completely different backgrounds and perspectives, and creating spaces where people feel seen, challenged, encouraged, deeply loved, well-fed, and definitely leave laughing. I also have a strangely good memory for people and the little details they share with me. I'll remember your dog's name, your favorite coffee order, the conversation we had six months ago, and probably ask you how that thing you mentioned in passing is going because making people feel remembered is one of my favorite ways to love them.
Whether that's through Her Formation, my podcast, Faith & Fitness, coaching, or simply running into each other somewhere around St. Pete, my hope is that people leave every interaction feeling a little more hopeful than when they arrived.
If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to get to know me, or as I'd probably call it, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.