My name is Katya Fels Smyth.
I've spent 30+ years challenging assumptions and structures underlying American systems — including that scale and perpetuity are inherently valuable — and leading organizations and alliances that offer a new way forward.
I'm deeply curious about how as a species we have moments of intense kindness and glory, and also moments of appalling cruelty. I try to do my part to make the former a bit more likely. Some days are better than others for this.
I’ve founded and exited two nonprofits with lasting impact. The first — On The Rise — continues to thrive without me. The mission of the second — Full Frame Initiative — lives on, even as the organization has sunsetted.
I'm a mom, spouse, friend, and the person to cats, dogs, cows, sheep, and donkeys. And a garlic farmer, too. We all contain multitudes — mine include loving my Carhartts and my three-inch heels.
Here's a profile of me that gets it pretty right.
And here’s my LinkedIn profile if that’s your thing.
who i am
photo: Jo Chattman
why i’m wellleaving
I’ve spent the last three decades moving the US towards a country where we all have a fair shot at wellbeing. It’s work at the intersection of systems change, movement building, and practical narrative shifts that stick. And it’s work that pays as much attention to endings as beginnings.
WellLeaving is the next coherent chapter, because there is no wellbeing without wellleaving. I’m applying a wellbeing lens to the part of collective life we avoid most — how we leave — and building new accountabilities so communities don’t pay the price for institutions that leave.
These days, I do a lot on nonprofit closures because the associated stigma creates festering harms that no one is held accountable for. I care because nonprofit closures are an entry point into our broader cultural illiteracy around endings. I care because how we leave each other matters. And if we pretend that we will never leave each other, we will be stuck in all this hurting and hate for a whole lot longer.
WellLeaving depends on raising awareness, finding friends and fellow-travelers, and building community (even as we get better at leaving). I do that in a few ways:
Illuminating blindspots + sightlines to solutions: I describe how institutions’ failure to leave well undermines social progress, and generate insights and solutions that move us forward.
Speaking: I give keynotes and lead sessions for events, teams, and boards (here’s a speaker’s brief).
Conversations: I conduct interviews, convene conversations, and connect people who should know each other.
Consulting: I take on a small number of projects each year with partners committed to pushing for larger change.
If you’d like to book me as a speaker, engage me as a consultant, or explore where your work connects with mine, please use the form below.
I’m excited to hear from you.
work with me
contact me
Please don’t be shy and don’t overthink it. We’re all trying to figure out this work of leaving well. I’d love to hear from you.
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