Kate Chapek

Kate Chapek is the founder and CEO of Rise Above Strategies. Kate has dedicated her professional career to developing people and equity programs to lift women and people of color into organizational and government leadership.

With over two decades of experience running campaigns, managing teams and developing, building and managing program infrastructure to scale in 25+ states, Kate has a laser focus on recruiting and investing in diverse teams, developing strategic programs for diverse organizations, and building a pipeline of staff and elected leaders at all levels of government, having recruited, trained, coached, managed, and elected hundreds of women and people of color up and down the ticket.

Specializing in program, infrastructure and leadership development through a diversity and equity lens, her experience working with candidates, educating voters and shaping public discourse around issues most affecting women and communities of color culminated in her selection as National Women’s Vote Director for President Obama’s 2012 campaign.

Kate’s passion and experience managing large national teams and programs around civic engagement and leadership development has led to her holding leadership positions throughout major organizations and candidate campaigns such as EMILY’s List, SEIU, America Votes, Communication Workers of America.

As a creative and analytical thinker, Kate has translated her decades of campaign experience and expanded her personal scale to grow impact across many issues most affecting local communities ignored and underfunded by people in power - from restorative justice, educational equity and affordable healthcare access to addressing affordable housing and the needs of those impacted by homelessness.

Her innate abilities to work within existing structures struggling to meet goals or scale outcomes, whether it's standing up a start up, or high level strategic planning that includes team building and program development, mean no project is too big or small.

Kate earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Broadcast Journalism from the Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California and her Master’s Degree in Journalism from Georgetown University.

A native of Southern California currently based in Los Angeles, Kate is equally dedicated to raising her tween daughter Sinatra and two darling dogs Lula and Beau "Joe" Biden and rooting for her beloved Dodgers. Raising Sinatra pushes Kate to further her drive and determination for bringing more leaders and teams into the movement for justice and equity.