Connect Collaborate Create
Life and Leadership
as Creative Art
The Work
Leadership for a World That Works Better
I'm a leadership and organization development consultant, executive coach, and facilitator with 30+ years of experience across private and public sectors. I partner with leaders and organizations through complexity, change, and transformation.
For the full picture of my professional work, visit Wilder Collaborative.
More About Me
Who is Kathryn Wilder?
Always Finding A Way
The first person in my family to graduate from college, I earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. I worked and paid my way through school with a combination of jobs, student loans, and financial aid.
My lessons in workplace dynamics started early. I began working and saving at age 11, building a small babysitting enterprise until I was old enough for a work permit and jobs as a cashier, waitress, and office assistant. I found my own way from a young age and began living independently at the age of 17.
My educational pursuits were always aimed at real-world application. I began my doctoral program with a 3-year-old son, a dog, and a business to run. So I learned a thing or two about competing priorities, resilience, and work-life balance. I cultivated a sense of wonder and curiosity with a deep love of learning along the way.
Community Is in My Nature
Even as a child navigating a lot on my own, I was never truly alone — teachers, librarians, parents of friends showed up in ways that shaped me. I learned early that self-reliance and community aren't opposites. They need each other.
That instinct to connect and convene has followed me everywhere. I've led professional associations, chaired boards, and built networks across sectors and around the world — not because I was climbing toward something, but because bringing people together is simply what I do. It's how I think. It's how I learn. It's how I contribute.
Along the way I've been mentored, have mentored others, and found some of my most treasured friendships in the most unexpected professional corners. I still love nothing more than introducing two people who don't yet know they need to know each other — and watching what happens next.
What Loss Gave Me
My 20-year-old son died unexpectedly in January 2021. As I continue to navigate and heal through that loss, it has transformed me in remarkable ways, including a new sense of fearlessness and humility, clarity about what matters most in life, and a commitment to make it all count. I carry that transformation into everything I do now — including the writing.
In An Alternate Universe...
If I wasn’t in my current profession, then I might be a journalist, anthropologist, lawyer, or independent bookstore owner. . . or somehow affiliated with the world of writing, film, or theater, I’ve always been fascinated with the creative process and I'm a lifelong reader. In fact, I'm finishing my first novel — and beginning a second.
My Different Roles
Leadership & Organization Development Consultant
Leadership & Organization Development Consultant
Leadership & Organization Development Consultant
I partner with leaders and teams to reveal what's happening beneath the surface: the system dynamics, cultural forces, and relational patterns that shape everything else. Together we design and experiment with approaches that align purpose to action, strategy with results, and people with culture.
Coach and Facilitator
Leadership & Organization Development Consultant
Leadership & Organization Development Consultant
Through a blend of curious, compassionate inquiry, deep reflection, and commitment to action, I coach individuals, teams, and groups. This isn't about fixing what's broken. It's about revealing what's possible and building the practices, clarity, and courage to move toward it.
Writer
Leadership & Organization Development Consultant
Writer
Writing is how I discover and learn — how I think, heal, and stay honest with myself. I use it to create a space where something unexpected can emerge, and I've come to trust that process the way I trust very few things.What began as a private practice has become something larger. For me, writing remains what it has always been: a divine,
Writing is how I discover and learn — how I think, heal, and stay honest with myself. I use it to create a space where something unexpected can emerge, and I've come to trust that process the way I trust very few things.What began as a private practice has become something larger. For me, writing remains what it has always been: a divine, sacred experience. The difference now is that I'm not keeping it to myself.