My Personal Story
Welcome! I’m Kathy Caprino, and I’m so happy you’re here.
I’d like to share a bit about my work as a “Finding Brave” career and leadership coach, writer, speaker, executive trainer and educator dedicated to the advancement of women in business. And I’d love to share my personal story that prompted me to serve women to achieve true breakthrough to reach their highest and most exciting goals and visions.
My first 20 years at work
Briefly, I was a corporate marketing executive and rose to the VP level, spending 18 years in corporate life, in publishing, marketing and product management. In the beginning, it was exciting and rewarding, and I enjoyed it.
But as I approached 40 years old, things changed. I was outwardly very “successful,” but inwardly I struggled deeply. My work began to feel false and inauthentic, and work-life balance and wellness were increasingly unattainable. The cultures I worked in were often fraught with deep conflict and difficulty, and I couldn’t speak up truthfully or be my true self. I suffered from chronic illness (with painful infections of the trachea every few months for four years), was exhausted and drained much of the time, and my work lacked contributive purpose and meaning to me. In addition, I faced sexual harassment, gender discrimination and bias, toxic colleagues, narcissistic bosses, zero work-life balance, and more.
I knew I needed outside help to reinvent my career, and reached out to get it, through working with a therapist, career counselor and mentor, etc. But nothing moved me forward to make the changes I needed to. (I hadn’t yet embarked on a true “finding brave” path). In the end, I experienced all twelve of the “hidden” crises I later described in my first book, Breakdown, Breakthrough: The Professional Woman’s Guide to Claiming a Life of Passion, Power and Purpose, including chronic illness, discrimination, financial struggle, feeling as if I was wasting my real talents, missing my children’s lives, and longing to do something of greater meaning in my life and work.
The breakdown/breakthrough moment emerges
In 2001, after a brutal layoff in the days following the attacks of 9/11, I decided to reclaim my life. I recognized I wanted to “help people, and not hurt people and be hurt” as I had been experiencing in my corporate life. I earned a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and trained as a coach, became a therapist and a career and leadership coach and consultant, launched a private therapeutic practice with two others, and later formed my own business – Kathy Caprino LLC (formerly Ellia Communications, Inc.).
Today’s focus
During the past 17 years, I also engaged in delivering career growth training (with my courses including The Amazing Career Project and the Amazing Career Coach Certification) and became a Senior Forbes contributor with my column “Career Bliss,” (41+ million views to date) and a LinkedIn “Top Voice.” I began delivering keynotes and workshops both nationally and internationally and have spoken at over 200 corporate and leadership conferences and events, and been featured in over 100 top media outlets as an expert source on women at work, careers, leadership, communication, job search and more, offering effective strategies for thriving through change and taking the reins on our lives and careers to make the impact and difference we long to.
In the past several years, in working with thousands of professional women around the globe, I began to see some disturbing trends that my qualitative and quantitative research later validated – that 98% of professional women I studied and worked with directly were experiencing what I call the 7 most damaging power and confidence gaps that block women from reaching their highest, most rewarding and meaningful potential and success.
The Most Powerful You book and trainings
My latest book, The Most Powerful You: 7 Bravery-Boosting Paths to Career Paths (which was nominated by The Next Big Idea Club as one of their Summer 2020 picks and consistently ranking in the top 100 audiobooks on Amazon’s “Women in Business” list, and has been translated into Arabic, Chinese and Polish), and its companion course The Most Powerful You, address this epidemic of power and confidence challenges in women and share my own coaching strategies — as well as powerful advice and solutions from over 30 national experts in key fields essential to women’s success — on how to close these power gaps for good and thrive to the highest degree.
I’m also committed to helping organizations — through my Most Powerful You workshops and other trainings — in building new types of work cultures that can help women and all underrepresented groups rise, thrive, be valued, and reach their highest potential.
Finding Brave podcast
In 2018, I launched a new podcast — Finding Brave — (now a Top 100 Apple Career Podcast ranked in the top 1.5% of over 3.2 million podcasts worldwide) featuring many of the nation’s top business and entrepreneurial experts, organizational leaders, bestselling authors, Pulitzer-prize nominees and winners, creatives, entertainment figures and other movers and shakers who share their unique stories, insights and strategies that help listeners move forward to achieve the success and reward they long for.
Key Goal:
At this juncture, my key goal is to help professional women “dig deep, discover their right work, and illuminate the world with it.” I also deeply enjoy working with men who are ready to engage in the vulnerable work of change as well.
The Personal Side
In addition to my professional work, I’m a proud mom of two amazing young adults, and I’m an active singer and performer as well as tennis player. I’ve have performed throughout my life and on numerous recordings and at many choral appearances throughout New York City and Connecticut — at Carnegie Hall, in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Choir, at the United Nations, SONY Recording Studios, and also throughout Italy, Vienna and Prague (in two thrilling performance tours in the past several years with The Wilton Singers).
I’ve also performed and recorded with renowned jazz percussionist Arthur Lipner. (Check out our Meditative Audio Companion to Breakdown, Breakthrough!) As an accomplished singer, writer, and speaker, I coach others who wish to bring forward their creative talents and abilities to the forefront, which can transform how we work and live.
You can check out some of my recordings here.
To read first-hand how others have benefited from my work, check out my praise page or recommendations on my LinkedIn profile.
If you long for greater professional success, joy, fulfillment and meaning in your life and work, I hope you’ll reach out. Please contact me at info@kathycaprino.com or complete my coaching application here.
I’d love to help you access your bravest, Most Powerful You to experience your ultimate career success and happiness.
Thank you!
