Her Story
About Kay'te
My journey in the mental health field spans 9 years, starting when I was around 18 years old. Around age 23, I moved away from home without knowing where I was going - I didn't have a house, a car, or really anything or anybody there. I took a job I didn't expect to take and didn't expect I would even get, and it worked out really well. I went from being a regular crisis counselor to a team lead, and then started aiding people with crisis intervention on a global level. This experience transitioned me into the idea of sustainable ecology, and in the last year, I launched my own initiative for the first time, which might have been my biggest achievement. Currently, I'm a global consultant working with different organizations on issues of impact, especially surrounding marginalized communities. I make sure that people are heard, both youth and adults, and I focus on supporting stakeholders where they are. A big part of my work is learning to dismantle narratives we've learned about one another so we can work collaboratively across our differences - whether in organizations, groups, communities, churches, or schools. I'm also a PhD student at California Institute of Integral Studies, studying anthropology and social change, learning about cultures and people so we can create strategies to unite us and fix some of the social issues that are keeping us divided.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kay'te
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from my mentor Shatria Smith, who is the executive director of the Harriet Tubman Center in Springfield. When I first moved away from home, I didn't know what I was doing. I was a poet, and I read my poetry to her, and she told me, 'It's so good, but why are you talking so fast? Slow down, I can't hear you. Speak up.' As a poet herself, she was reminding me that it's okay to slow down for people to hear me, and also, people want to hear me, so don't be afraid to speak up. She reminded me that I could speak, that my poetry was also an important way of me speaking with my community, and that I didn't have to shake or shrink myself. She also set boundaries and told me, 'I'm not working for free,' and I didn't always understand it because I was always working for free at any volunteer opportunities, and I probably still would. She made me recognize that my work is worth something as well, and I don't always have to settle for being taken advantage of. She really inspired me in many ways.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I'd say go for it. Network, especially put yourself in rooms that you wouldn't feel most comfortable in, where people are doing it. Especially if you're a woman, please go into rooms full of inspiring women. It will inspire you to be the best version of yourself, who will inspire you to be whoever you want to be without the limits of boxes, of systems. Go to conferences, and they don't always cost money. Go into conferences, speak, ask questions. Don't just shrink into a box and think everything's gonna fall in your lap. You have to go outside and get it. It won't always come to you.
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