Katie Kurtz

Trust-Based Leadership Expert | Organizational Strategist | KEYNOTE Speaker

I believe the future of leadership won't be defined by authority, it will be defined by trust.

For more than 15 years, I've worked alongside healthcare systems, nonprofits, universities, government agencies, and mission-driven organizations to help leaders build cultures where people can collaborate, adapt, and thrive through uncertainty.

My work sits at the intersection of trust, trauma-informed leadership, neuroscience, and organizational strategy. I help organizations move beyond good intentions by translating research into practical skills that strengthen communication, improve workplace culture, reduce burnout, and build the relational capacity today's leaders need.

I'm the creator of the TRUST™ Framework, an evidence-informed approach that helps leaders turn values into everyday behaviors so trust becomes more than an aspiration—it becomes a strategic advantage.

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Why Trust?

Every organization wants engagement, innovation, collaboration, and retention.

Yet many invest in new initiatives without addressing the foundation those outcomes depend on: trust.

Trust isn't built through mission statements or one-time trainings.

It's built through everyday behaviors, communication, leadership, and systems.

That's where my work begins.

I Believe

  • Trust is the defining leadership competency of the future.

  • Healthy cultures are built through consistent behaviors, not aspirational values.

  • Human skills are becoming strategic skills in the age of AI.

  • Trauma-informed leadership is evolving from awareness into organizational capability.

  • Organizations thrive when they invest in relationships as intentionally as they invest in strategy.

    I work with:

Healthcare Systems

People & Culture Teams

HR Leaders

Mission-Driven Organizations

Universities

Government Agencies

Digital Health

Social Impact Companies

Leadership Teams

Why organizations hire me

  • Globally Recognized Expertise: Katie’s subject matter expertise make her a sought-after trainer, speaker, and consultant for organizations ready to transform organizational culture, collaboration, and performance.

  • One Solution for Every Challenge: Katie’s proprietary TRUST™ Model gets to the root of organizational challenges, giving you one evidence-led approach instead of chasing multiple temporary fixes.

  • A Real & Relatable Leader: Katie models the behaviors she teaches, blending her lived and learned experiences into dynamic, practical, and inspiring learning experiences.

  • Dynamic, Energizing, and Actionable: Katie brings complex ideas to life with energy and clarity, using real-world examples and tangible tools that leave participants ready and confident to use.

  • Everyone Plays a Role: Katie shows everyone how their daily actions impact culture, making trust and collaboration a shared responsibility.

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media kit

    • Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology and Gender Studies from the University of Dayton

    • Master’s Degree in Social Work & Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Case Western Reserve University

    • Over 15 years as a licensed social worker with supervision designation {LISW-S} in the State of Ohio

    • Certified Coach with Beautiful You Coaching Academy

    • Certified Dare to Lead™ Trained

    • Registered 200 Hour Yoga Teacher with Ylonda Rosenthal-Greene, Soul Yoga

    • Trauma-Informed Yoga Training with Zabie Yamasaki

    • Over 30+ hours of ethics, anti-oppression, and trauma-informed continuing education per year since 2007

    • My formal trauma-informed training began in 2008 within the context of my social work graduate program. I was formally trained by SAMHSA in 2012 and then went on to complete various trainings and continuing education courses including programs with Dr. Bruce Perry, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Resmaa Menakem, and Dr. Wendy Ellis

    • The TRUST™ proprietary model is informed by the best practices established by SAMHSA, World Health Organization, Missouri Model and Trauma-Informed Oregon

    • Inaugural recipient of the State of Ohio’s Trauma-Informed Care Award (2025)

    • Multiple award winning trauma-informed coach including 2023-2024 International Coach of the Year Award

    • Vetted Subject Matter Expert with the Integrate Network Trauma-Informed Network

    • Regional co-chair for the State of Ohio’s Trauma Informed Care Collaborative

    • Adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University

    • Guest faculty for the Beautiful You Life Coaching Academy Coach Training And Wholehearted Coaching Certification

    • I recognize the origins of trauma-informed care by acknowledging the unnamed survivors, activists, and advocates who were at the helm to make this approach possible today. I steward this approach because of them and in honor of them.

    • I give gratitude to all those who have and continue to offer me supervision, training, coaching & mentoring including but not limited to: Nancy Schaumburg, Toni Gelsomino, Ylonda Rosenthal-Greene, Steph Jagger, Julie Parker, Sammie Fleming, Madison Morrigan, Sas Petherick, Andrea Ranae Johnson, Jacki Carr, Mary Beth LaRue, Sharon Wasco, Zabie Yamasaki, Julie Johnson, Nicole Lewis Keeber, Jess Jackson, Pippa Parfait, Tristan Katz, and Annie Gichuru.

    • My approach is my own but informed & inspired by so many teachers & modalities most notably but not limited to: Julie Parker, Resmaa Menakem, Brene Brown, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Dr. Wendy Ellis, Stephen Porges, Dr. Bruce Perry, adrienne maree brown, Ann Linnea and Christina Baldwin.

  • Trust is not assumed, it’s built over time-and always at the pace of our nervous system.

    That’s why understanding the neuroscience of trust and applying a trauma-informed approach is central to my work.

    Trust isn’t defined by neutrality or surface-level kindness—it’s defined by courage, presence, and intentional action. I believe in honoring the origins of trauma-informed practice while actively choosing aligned, meaningful action in everyday life.

    For me, this is more than theory-it’s a commitment to practice what I teach, guiding teams and leaders to cultivate trust in ways that are practical, sustainable, and transformative.

  • I value integrity, courage, inclusion, adaptability and connection.

    I work diligently to lead these values out loud as well as embody the key principles of the TRUST™ approach.

    I stay accountable to my values through continuing education, peer accountability, open feedback pathways, and self-reflection.

  • TRUST™ is rooted in inclusion, equity, and collective liberation practices.

    I am regularly engaged in working with leaders in these fields to inform the work I lead, to review the areas that need strengthening and to share resources with those I train. 

    I have established plans that receive regular review for how I will repair harm that I may cause, conflict that may arise, and remain open to feedback from others. 

    You can read my commitment to lead my values out loud here.

  • Katie Kurtz is an award-winning organizational strategist, speaker, educator, and creator of the TRUST™ Framework (Trauma-Informed Relational Upskilling & Systems Transformation). She helps organizations build high-trust cultures by translating trauma-informed practice, neuroscience, and organizational behavior into practical leadership strategies that strengthen communication, collaboration, wellbeing, and workplace culture.

    With more than 15 years of experience across healthcare, higher education, government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, Katie has partnered with organizations including USC, Trinity Health, Oberlin College, Mental Health America, OhioHealth, Diabetes UK, and state agencies to support leadership development and organizational transformation. She is also an adjunct faculty member, host of the Trauma-Informed Future podcast, and recipient of the inaugural Ohio Trauma-Informed Care Award.

    Through her speaking, consulting, and professional education, Katie is advancing a vision of leadership where trust is not a soft skill, but a strategic capability for creating healthier people, stronger teams, and more resilient organizations.

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