About Kara
Before I ever became a coach, I was a storyteller.
After earning my MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia University and starting to publish my fiction, I found that I was at my best helping others tell their own stories. I received a TEFL certification in 2003, then taught fiction writing and argumentation at Columbia and San Jose State Universities. As a professor, I realized I was able to add the most value not only by coaching content development, but also by honing presentation style and delivery, maximizing written and oral concision, and troubleshooting strategies for high-stakes storytelling. This is still the foundation of my coaching approach.
I began my coaching career in 2010 at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where I was a founding member of the program in MBA Communication Coaching. In addition to coaching and advising in that program for over ten years, I have worked with thousands of Bay area tech, business, and design leaders reach their communication and leadership goals. Whether it’s delivering a persuasive keynote or becoming more persuasive in your day-to-day, making an investor pitch or becoming a faster writer, I’m committed to empowering you to deliver your message authentically and effectively so that you can make your greatest impact.
With JD Schramm, Ed.D, I’m the co-author of Communicate with Mastery: How to Speak with Conviction and Write for Impact (Wiley, 2020), a hands-on guide to communication based on our experiences teaching at Stanford Graduate School of Business and beyond.
I live in San Francisco with my partner and two daughters, will happily exchange book recommendations with you, and am a passionate devotee of the New York bagel.
My areas of expertise:
• Impromptu speaking and presentation/keynote skills
• Content development and storytelling
• Leadership and presence development
My coaching style:
• You’ll have actionable tools you can use right away after every session
• You’ll have hands-on practice with me in coaching sessions to develop muscle memory around new skills
• You’ll receive comprehensive notes from me after every session with ways to practice, insights from our conversations, and tips for implementation