Interview: Katie Augustine — Vision, Purpose & Planetary Impact
Katie Augustine is a coach, consultant, and the founder of ECS Evolve Consulting Services. Her work focuses on supporting nonprofit leaders as they connect personal leadership vision with organizational purpose and broader collective and planetary impact. Through her integrative approach, Katie helps leaders navigate complexity with clarity, intention, and a deeper sense of responsibility to the world they serve.
From Corporate Law to Conscious Coaching
In 2011, while working 60–70 hour weeks as a banking attorney during the aftermath of the financial crisis, Katie attended an event that would quietly, but profoundly change her life. Hearing her mentor, Mary Morrissey, speak sparked a deep inner recognition. The message resonated in a way that felt impossible to ignore.
Although the idea of becoming a coach didn’t make practical sense at the time, on a soul level it felt inevitable. A year later, Katie became certified through the Brave Thinking Institute, beginning a new chapter rooted not only in personal transformation, but in service to collective and planetary wellbeing.
A Path Integrating Systems, Spirituality, and Service
From an early age, Katie was deeply curious about the relationship between humanity and the natural world. She studied psychology, philosophy, and environmental studies, eventually attending law school with the hope of practicing environmental law. While her professional path took a different direction, her underlying purpose remained intact.
Katie spent several years building a successful career as a consultant and director in banking compliance. The work sharpened her strategic thinking, leadership capacity, and understanding of complex systems, skills that later became essential to her coaching and consulting practice.
Alongside her corporate career, Katie remained committed to personal and spiritual development. In 2009, she was ordained as a minister through the Center for Sacred Studies, where she spent eight years studying transpersonal psychology and learning alongside Indigenous elders. These experiences reshaped her understanding of leadership—not as control or dominance, but as stewardship, harmony, and responsibility to the whole.
Eventually, Katie felt called to fully integrate her strategic expertise with her love for the planet. That decision led to the founding of ECS Evolve Consulting Services, where she now works with nonprofit leaders to align personal, organizational, and collective vision in service of meaningful, long-term impact.
The Be The Change™ Framework
At the core of Katie’s work is the Be The Change™ Program, designed to help nonprofit leaders evolve their organizations while expanding their reach and effectiveness. The framework is built on three core pillars:
- Envision: Aligning organizational vision with deeply held values and the good of the collective
- Empower: Translating vision into aligned objectives and actionable strategies
- Enrich: Building collaborations that expand membership, funding, and global impact
This work unfolds through six phases—Engage, Vision, Originate, Launch, Validate, and Expand—guiding leaders from intention to execution with clarity, accountability, and conscious leadership.
Continuous Learning as Essential
For Katie, ongoing learning is not optional. In a world evolving at unprecedented speed, staying still means falling behind. She believes coaches and leaders alike have a responsibility to remain informed, adaptable, and ethically aligned in order to truly serve those they support.
She also notes that the coaching industry itself is changing rapidly. Social media, artificial intelligence, and new modes of connection are reshaping what people seek. Increasingly, clients are looking for more than individual guidance, they want community, shared growth, and spaces where collective transformation can occur.
A Message for Coaches and Leaders
Katie encourages coaches and leaders to lead with authenticity, trusting that resonance, not competition is what builds trust and lasting relationships. She emphasizes the power of collaboration, partnerships, and genuine mutual support, reminding us that exponential impact is created together, not in isolation.
She also urges leaders to stay educated and flexible while remaining true to their essence, especially in an era of rapid technological change.
Above all, Katie invites us to help our clients hold a vision beyond themselves, one that includes future generations, the planet, and the ecosystems that sustain life.
“Our collective legacy could be that we supported evolution into the next golden era. As coaches and influencers, I believe we’re being called to lead the way during this extraordinary time.”
To learn more about Katie Augustine and her work, visit her linkedin.
