KATHRYN GOETZKE

She is currently working to license the Hopeful Cities programming to cities around the world, to ensure all know what hopelessness is, and are equipped with skills for ‘how’ to Shine Hope™ (Stress Skills, Happiness Habits, Inspired Actions, Nourishing Networks, and Eliminating Challenges). There are educational programs for all ages, and public health campaigns and learning materials to ensure all know ‘how’ to hope, engaging with sectors in government, healthcare, science, arts, education, and workplaces. She authored a comprehensive Hopeful Cities Playbook with both free resources and licensed programming.

Kathryn is a global mental health ambassador, overcoming her own battles with depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, and addictions through therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, support, and ultimately learning ‘how’ to hope. She has been sober for almost 20 years, and ten years ago, she set out to prove her theory that hope was teachable and created award-winning evidence-based programming that accomplished that feat that she uses to manage her own mental health. She lost her father to suicide at 18 and knows all too well the negative consequences of untreated mental health on both the self and the family system.

Ms. Goetzke began her career with 3M Corporation in research and moved to lead rebranding IDS mutual funds to American Express, served as VP of Sales and Marketing for Compass Marketing, and then established her own company and brand, pioneering a social impact model well ahead of its time. In her current role as CEO and Chief Hope Officer at The Shine Hope Company, she works with youth, colleges, cities, and CEOs to create evidence-based programming to measure and improve hope as it predicts retention, productivity, health, mental health, safety, and is a proactive, destigmatizing, and preventative approach to mental health.

Kathryn and her work have been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, PsychCentral, Psychology Today, Home, InStyle, Scholastic Choices Magazine, and her research on hope has been published in peer-reviewed journals. She has spoken at the United Nations, the Global Mental Health Movement Conference, World Federation for Mental Health Conference, the Harvard Boardroom, at Mental Health Community Associations Conference, The Kennedy Forum, The World Bank, the Scent Marketing Institute, and more. She has been featured on multiple radio and television shows including BBC, WGN, CBS, and QVC. Ms. Goetzke serves on advisory boards for FundaMentalSDG, Women’s Brain Project, and the Global Mental Health Movement, and is on the board of Hope Means Nevada and iFred.

Ms. Goetzke is most proud of her work for Hopeful Minds, a program she developed to teach Hope to kids based on research that it is a teachable skill. The program was featured as an innovation by the World Bank and has been downloaded by 2500 educators around the world. As hopelessness is the primary predictor of suicide and violence, and #1 symptom of depression and a key symptom of anxiety and addiction, learning how to create, maintain, and grow hope is critical to prevention of anxiety, depression, violence, and suicide.