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 fifteen 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 languages and abilities

• elected state officials

• young people impacted by the criminal legal system

• philanthropic leaders

I am particularly proud of my ongoing work to build story-based media relations and political advocacy communications strategy in partnership with underrepresented students and families and people with developmental disabilities from across Washington state. My drive to stay rooted in community-based organizations is driven by that incredible feeling of agency and community power that comes with the successful passage of landmark legislation to close equity gaps in schools or the confirmation that a devastating cut to disability services has been dropped from budget negotiations.

I build fluency quickly around new fields and issues. My portfolio includes work for clients working in 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 spend 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.

headshots by @burnashburn