Her Story
About Katie
Katie Wales serves as Executive Director of Brighter Children, where she leads efforts to provide quality education to vulnerable children in underserved communities worldwide amid the global education crisis affecting over 200 million children. Based in Chicago, she has dedicated her entire professional career to the not-for-profit sector, beginning with adult literacy work during college and progressing through roles in arts funding and 11 years as executive director of the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation, where she supported innovative cancer research in GI cancers. As the first executive director for three different organizations, Wales has guided each through significant growth phases, drawing on her education as an English major with creative writing studies culminating in an MFA from Northwestern University. She maintains active memberships in the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Women in Philanthropy, and the Nonprofit Leadership Lab. Wales attributes her success to her collaborative spirit, genuine human connections, and ability to bring others along in causes she deeply believes in, while upholding core values of trust, honesty, integrity, and connection as an extreme extrovert.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Katie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I really believe it's my ability to collaborate with others. I have a lot of fun. I've always established really deep connections with the people in my life. I think it's that genuine desire to connect with other people, and to bring them along with something that I care about so deeply.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Listen to your gut. If you feel like you are examining the line between right and wrong, like what's moral and what might not be, you're standing too close to the line.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You don't have to know everything, or be an expert in everything. Don't let imposter syndrome get the better of you. It's okay to be an expert in some things and not in others, but you're never going to be an expert in everything.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
In the not-for-profit sector, we are affected by a volatile market. People's giving habits change. It's important to make sure our mission stays extremely relevant. There's a shifting perspective on what not-for-profits need, measuring by impact rather than arbitrary metrics like expenses versus programming.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Trust, honesty, and integrity, human connection. Those are the core pillars. I genuinely love connecting with other humans. I'm an extreme extrovert.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.