My name is Katie Gustainis.

I am the owner of Katie Gustainis Consulting, LLC. When you hire me, you’re getting a seasoned communications professional with over fourteen years of experience telling the stories of organizations like yours.

I lead collaborative teams, produce fiercely strategic campaigns, and am grounded in my core value of recognizing our shared humanity.

I have developed a knack for managing simultaneous campaigns for a range of audiences and clients, including:

• community-based coalitions and organizations

• grassroots advocates of diverse language and ability

• elected state officials

• young people impacted by the criminal legal system

• philanthropic leaders

I am particularly proud of my time spent directing story-based media relations and political advocacy communications strategy in partnership with underrepresented students and families across Washington state. My continued work in community-based organizations is driven by that incredible feeling of agency and community power we felt each time we successfully secured the passage of three landmark bills to reduce barriers and close equity gaps in Washington K-12 public schools.

I am able to build fluency quickly around new fields and issues. Currently, I am already comfortable with work that deals with equitable education policy, disability rights, legislative advocacy, community engagement, and community-based healthcare.

As an occasional instructor of Introduction to Communication and Public Speaking courses at Highline College, I am fortunate to have spent time immersed with the most diverse student population in Washington State. As a educator, I count myself as lucky to have taught and learned from each of my students about the true power of our stories.

My Master’s degree is in Communication Management from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, an internationally-recognized school devoted to communications. Originally I hail from Texas, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies at West Texas A&M University. These days, my business and my family are proudly rooted in the Pacific Northwest. I live with my wife and two young children in Burien where we are actively building a heart-forward community together.