Kathryn (Katie) Elliott

Kathryn (Katie) Elliott (Certificate in Leadership and Communication) is passionate about the vocal arts; she works professionally with a church choir, is a soloist in a quartet, and recently took on the role of managing director for an independent opera company—all while working full time in an administrative role at Penn. With great artistic output comes great responsibility, however, so Katie enrolled in the Certificate in Leadership and Communication to diversify her skill set and support her creative and professional pursuits. “I was always interested in going back to school, and I wanted to explore something that would align with my current career goals,” she explains. “I thought this would be a good next step rather than just jumping into another full degree. The flexible schedule was really helpful while working multiple jobs and performing, and I could apply the principles that I learned to my current positions.”

Katie did jump in with both feet, however: The first course she took toward the certificate was MTHS 1000: Mathematical Foundations for Data Analytics. “I remember having to fill out a survey at the beginning of the class asking how many years it had been since I had taken a math class…. And I had to check 10+ years. I was like, oh no, like what am I getting into?” laughs Katie. “But I made it through.” The rest of her coursework, she says, was more focused on reading, discussion, and reflection. One standout course was LEAD 1040: Professional Communication and Personal Development, because Katie was able to apply lessons directly to her work as an administrative coordinator as well as her artistic pursuits. “My emails became a lot more streamlined and a lot clearer,” she says. “And I'm able to approach different people in different ways, listening to other people and really getting a sense of what they need.”

In other courses such as LEAD 2030: Leadership Lessons from the Humanities, Katie and her classmates looked to examples of well-known leaders to study different styles of leadership and communication—and to identify what style might best suit their own strengths and preferences. “One of my favorite assignments was when I wrote a paper on Anna Wintour from Vogue. It was really interesting to analyze her leadership style and see that it is effective, but that's not the type of leader I necessarily want to be.” Katie’s leadership style emphasizes strong communication skills, flexibility, and empathy. “Relatable, approachable, and personable is the type of leader I want to be. There’s so much of leadership that is actually just listening to people and meeting them where they’re at,” she says. “You have to be highly attuned and understanding with artists—and I speak as an artist myself. We’re very sensitive.”

Katie has had ample opportunity to put her leadership philosophy to work. As she completed her certificate and developed her institutional knowledge at Penn, she was promoted from assistant to coordinator; she now manages a team of undergraduate students. “I treat them completely differently than my volunteer choir at church, but I’m still able to help them grow and learn and have a good time while they get the work done,” she notes. Katie is also responsible for directing the annual undergraduate awards ceremony, an intensive undertaking that brings together 150-200 family members, faculty, and guests to support undergraduate award winners. She also organizes department events for fun—such as hiring musicians and organizing the logistics for an event she calls Lounge and Listen during staff appreciation week. “It’s been very exciting to grow in this position, and to be able to use the skills I’ve learned in the certificate along the way,” she adds.

In LEAD 1010: Leadership Theory, Practice, and Purpose, Katie’s final assignment was to formulate a 5-year leadership plan. “Two roles of interest for me were dean of a music school and director of a performing arts organization. I’m now the managing director of a small organization, so I’m definitely on track,” she says. The organization is Redivivus, a newly formed opera platform for artists at all stages of their careers to showcase their talents in a safe and nurturing space. “The motto is ‘community for opera, opera for community,’” says Katie. In this role, she manages many of the logistics behind the scenes and also balances the leadership style and vision of the organization’s artistic director. “It’s about trying to find the right balance of incentives,” Katie explains. “That’s something that stuck with me from class. We do use material incentives—we want to fundraise, we want to make sure everyone is paid fairly for their time and their effort. But for my colleagues, it is also ideational—we put on a program of labor and protest songs to really make a statement.”

Katie’s next step is to begin the Certificate in Creative Writing, which she expects to find professionally as well as creatively fulfilling. “I used to run social media for a nonprofit performing arts festival, and I would be interested in working more on that if the opportunity arose. I think creative writing is a good bridge to that—and to tell stories and connect with people,” says Katie. “Also it seemed like a lot of fun.” She encourages future leadership students to keep an open mind about what leadership is or could be—especially when it comes to evaluating on your own strengths. “Being really open to self-reflection and being really honest with yourself is important—not only for the certificate, but just in general,” she concludes.