Kathy Burkgren

Kathy is a consultant and executive leadership coach whose goal is to help leaders discover their purpose, passion, and personal mission by allowing them the space and freedom to explore new possibilities for their life and work, and align their behaviors, actions, and interactions to their vision. At Cornell, Kathy has increasingly held senior leadership roles, starting as a staff writer/marketing specialist and then executive assistant to a vice president to becoming an AVP. Armed with first-hand knowledge of the often-rigorous expectations for leadership success, Kathy inspires people to understand what has meaning to them so that they can keep that front and center throughout their leadership journey and use their awareness to transform themselves and their organizations. In Kathy’s current role as AVP for Organizational Development and Effectiveness at Cornell, she leads a team that provides consulting, coaching, and training across Cornell’s campuses. In addition, she enjoys working with private industry and non-profits. Her goal is to work with leaders to create individual and organizational excellence which leads them, and their teams, to more effectively and efficiently accomplish the mission and goals of the organization, and experience more enjoyment while doing so. Kathy holds a Master’s and Ph.D. from Cornell University in educational psychology with an emphasis in organizational behavior. She completed her undergraduate education at Iowa State University majoring in agricultural education and journalism.