Meet Katie

I embody it before I teach it.

Katie Sturtevant · Owner & Director, Positive Futures · Pismo Beach, CA

“Katie is personable, organized, accountable and strives to meet her clients' expectations. She has an array of resources and skills and maintains a positive and fun personality.”
Laila Kollmann, Owner, Shoreline Inn

Dynamic leader, motivational coach, and collaborative facilitator. Katie empowers individuals and organizations to increase their capacity, gain new skills, and achieve their goals with confidence. And, she leads with so much enthusiasm and passion because this work truly changed her own life.

Katie Sturtevant smiling, dark wavy hair and hoop earrings, outdoors in soft light
Pismo Beach, CA
“We have a ripple effect and are out in the community with the skills to make meaningful connections and the confidence to take full responsibility for our lives.”
Katie Sturtevant
“The story I am telling myself may feel true but it's not always so.”
Shunryu Suzuki
Zen teacher & Author

Katie's story

I've spent my career helping individuals and organizations navigate change, strengthen relationships, and create effective ways of working together. Along the way, I learned something simple, yet transformational: lasting change doesn't begin with new strategies. It begins with increasing our capacity, gaining skills, and having a deep desire to want something more.

Like many people, my own journey has been shaped by both challenge and growth. Early in my career, I believed success meant carrying more, solving more, and working harder. Over time, through personal growth, development, and years of working alongside leaders, teams, mentors, and individuals, I discovered that the greatest developments don't come from trying to fix people. They come from helping them better understand themselves.

That belief is the foundation of Positive Futures.

Organizations often struggle not because people lack talent or good intentions, but because they are operating from unconscious patterns, perspectives, and habits that shape how they communicate, lead, and work together. When awareness and capacity grow, people gain the ability to choose differently. They listen more deeply, communicate more effectively, navigate conflict with greater confidence, and lead with clarity and purpose.

There is nothing I teach that I don't want to learn myself. This wisdom and approach to life have changed my life. I want that for everyone.

Katie
A coaching conversation at a table covered with markers and notes, flip charts on effective communication and the feedback model behindIn session
“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Ted Lasso,

The path here

Twenty-plus years of shaping teams that deliver.

Katie's knowledge extends across both nonprofit and for-profit sectors, from fundraising events to high-profile concerts to leadership consulting. She uses her specialized training in leadership consulting, coaching, meeting facilitation, and high-performance team development, and integrates her intimate knowledge of the Enneagram Personality System to the benefit of her clients.

Leadership consultingCoachingMeeting facilitationHigh-performance teamsThe Enneagram

Career start

Hospice of San Luis Obispo County

Began her career organizing events to raise critical funding for the organization.

17+ years

Avila Beach Golf Resort

Operations development, staff training and development, plus producing and executing large, high-profile events and concerts including Willie Nelson, ZZ Top & Bonnie Raitt.

Community leadership

Stewardship Travel

Co-created and current director of the SLO County Tourism Business Improvement District's award-winning sustainable tourism program.

Today

Positive Futures

Consulting, coaching and training for industry leaders and unique small businesses such as PG&E, Hope Family Wines, Bar Method SLO and the fun Meathead Movers.

Award-winning community work

Stewardship Travel

The program Katie co-created for San Luis Obispo County's unincorporated Tourism Business Improvement District has earned three honors for its commitment to community and the environment.

Visit California

California's award-winning sustainable tourism program

Poppy Award for Commitment to Community

Visit SLO CAL Tourism Exchange

Environmental Award

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Business & Tourism Sea Star Award

What drives the work

Vision & mission

Vision

Communities and organizations are joyfully led, motivated, and inspired by individuals and leaders who are curious, emotionally aware, and who help create higher-functioning workplaces, positive community relationships, and meaningful lives.

Mission

Evolving effective communication, leadership, and teamwork through increased awareness, knowledge, and motivation for positive, lasting change.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
Maya Angelou, American poet and memoirist

    Katie in sunglasses and her husband in a Fort Hunter Liggett Fire Department cap, smiling together outdoorsKatie and her husband

    Off the clock

    A happy resident of SLO County for 20+ years

    Katie fondly calls Pismo Beach home with her retired firefighter husband and their two dogs, Honey & Buster. You might meet them someday exploring one of their favorite local beaches in their comfy fifth wheel. Don't hesitate to say hi!

    Honey & Buster 🐾Pismo Beach
    “Katie's presence is empowering and deeply genuine. Her authenticity makes the work incredibly impactful for anyone seeking growth.”
    Tara Stumph, Business Owner, Phresh Foods

    Are you ready?

    Whether you're leading an organization, growing as a leader in your own life, or looking for a community of women who value growth, let's talk.