Hi all—I’m honored to be taking the reins of Workings, and I very much hope that you’ll stick around to get to know Tony and me and to read along as Steyer’s next chapter unfolds.

When I started at Steyer in 2015 (the second time—the first time was in 2011, on a Microsoft client project working on Windows 8 app content strategy and programming), I wasn’t entirely sure where I wanted my career to go. But I knew I wanted to learn, so I said yes to working on Steyer’s marketing for Kate Walton. Then I kept saying yes: to new responsibilities, to being an agent of change, to facing my shortcomings, and to learning from my mistakes. Yes to Kate’s extended basketball/Battlestar Galactica metaphors and her “death comes for us all” pep talks (email me and I can explain). Yes to co-leading this company with Tony, as clear-eyed and persevering a business builder as any I’ve ever met—and a hell of a partner. And now, yes to Workings too, where I’m pushing myself a little bit to be vulnerable and share my thoughts even as they’re still taking shape. But_… yes to that, too.

I didn’t grow up immersed in business: my parents are firmly in the non-profit sphere. It’s been a surprise and a delight to discover how much I’ve been able to learn in the crucible of the marketplace. My love for competition has a happy home here, where we are pushed by the numbers (and our clients) to constantly improve and iterate. I want, with Tony and our whole team, to forge a path for Steyer where other talented people continue to have a place to say yes to professional growth—or at least to a job that meets their needs.

Workings is one space where I will be sharing about what it’s like to forge that path. Consider this an open invitation to write back to me with YOUR thoughts and questions. I’m at kreilly@steyer.net and I would love to hear from you about what’s on your mind.

Thanks,

Katelyn

Photo by me, this morning, of one of my favorite houseplants (String of Pearls) that I nearly murdered. I brought her back to life by sticking a cutting into water and crossing my fingers like mad, and now she’s flourishing!