Make it memorable. Make it matter.

Growing up in a big Irish family, I’ve been telling stories, cracking jokes, and captivating audiences for as long as I can remember. Now, I channel that same energy into my passion for brand, marketing, and personal branding—speaking to audiences of all sizes across the country.

My goal? To engage, inspire, and leave every audience with practical, actionable steps they can put to work long after the event ends. Every session is fully customized to your organization, your goals, and—most importantly—your people.

From keynotes and panels to tailored workshops or 1-on-1 sessions, let’s make it memorable, meaningful, and, dare I say, magical.

Ready to work together? Let’s connect and create something great ✨

  • With three rebrands and multiple M&A integrations behind me, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to build B2B brands that not only stand out but scale with the business. In today’s saturated landscape, brand isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s a strategic asset that drives trust, relevance, and growth.

    In this session, I’ll share practical strategies for building and evolving your brand—whether you’re starting from scratch or scaling a mature business. We’ll explore how to blend creativity with commercial impact, connect authentically with your audience, and align your brand with business goals.

    You’ll walk away with actionable tools to strengthen your brand presence, rally internal teams, and drive measurable results in even the most competitive markets.

  • Storytelling is at the heart of every strong brand—and even in B2B, it’s the human connection that makes a message memorable. In this session, we’ll explore how to craft authentic narratives that resonate with your audience and use social media as a strategic amplifier.

    I’ll share practical tools and frameworks for uncovering your unique story, creating content that builds trust, and strengthening relationships through consistent, values-driven communication. Whether you’re building a personal brand or leading a company narrative, you’ll leave with actionable steps to break through the noise, connect more meaningfully, and make your message stick.

  • We’re entering a new era of social selling—where personal influence and corporate branding intersect more than ever before. In this session, we’ll explore how brands can tap into the power of internal thought leaders and key opinion leaders (KOLs) to drive reach, trust, and authentic engagement.

    By empowering employees to share meaningful insights and building strategic relationships with experts, companies can transform social media into a more human, high-performing sales and brand channel. I’ll share actionable strategies to help you activate internal voices, scale social influence, and reimagine your social selling playbook for a digital-first world.

  • Coming from a science background and stepping into business leadership, I understand the challenges of navigating transitions, redefining your narrative, and standing out in a crowded space. I’ve built my personal brand by embracing both sides of my experience—grounded STEM expertise and creative, strategic thinking—and I’m passionate about helping others do the same.

    In this session, I’ll share actionable strategies for positioning yourself, communicating your value, and building visibility in a way that aligns with who you are and where you’re headed. As a woman who has grown her career in STEM-focused industries, I also understand the unique barriers—and opportunities—that come with challenging expectations and leading with authenticity.

    Through real stories, practical frameworks, and tools you can apply immediately, this session will empower women to grow their influence, expand their network, and own their value at every stage of their career.

How creativity drives business results

I had the pleasure of joining the IAA Global B2B Brand Summit 2023 alongside leaders from Salesforce and Deloitte to explore what makes B2B marketing truly effective. It was exciting to share the journey of reimagining a 100-year legacy brand like GE HealthCare—where we’re balancing innovation and purpose to deliver real impact.

From fostering an entrepreneurial spirit to keeping customers at the heart of everything we do, we’re focused on building a future-ready brand that delivers results. Connecting with leaders who are driving transformation and redefining success in the B2B space was both energizing and inspiring.

Reimagining your brand and strategy

I had the opportunity to join the Twogether Tech Marketing podcast at the ANA Masters of B2B Marketing conference to talk about the exciting journey of leading a brand through a spin-off. Reimagining GE HealthCare—a 100-year legacy brand—as a standalone company has been a masterclass in transformation.

From embracing change to fostering a culture of innovation, I shared how we’ve been building momentum by staying true to our purpose: serving people, patients, and customers while delivering real impact. It was a great conversation about the opportunities (and challenges!) that come with writing the next chapter of an iconic brand.

Tapping into employee content and culture

I had the chance to join the UW-Madison Executive Business Consortium to discuss building a human-centric value proposition, engaging employees to bolster and amplify your brand, and effectively measuring the impact your programs have on the organization. Here’s an excerpt of the virtual session!

Former Speaking Abstracts

  • From creative to go-to-market, brand momentum to demand uplift, sustainability to diversity, the c-suite call to action is effectiveness. B2B brand marketers are responding by making measurable impact the foundation for every initiative and investment. Learn from leaders of B2B marketing effectiveness and explore frameworks, strategies and impacts achieved and achievable.

    Kate Rodgers, Global Brand Media Director, GE HealthCare

    Yvette Ellis, Enterprise Marketing Excellence Leader, Deloitte

    Darren Brady-Harris, Senior Director, Global Strategic Planning Lead,

    Carolyn Murphy, VP Americas, WARC

  • It’s well known that brand and acquisition marketing running together is 6x more effective than acquisition campaigns running alone. The challenge lies in effectively merging these two facets of marketing.

    In this masterclass, we share best practices and strategies for achieving synergy between brand and demand marketing and help you develop actionable plans to implement integrated brand/demand marketing initiatives within your organization.

  • Join Kate Rodgers, Global Brand Media Director at GE Healthcare as they share invaluable insights into the transformation of brand and demand strategies at GE Healthcare. Discover how these global leaders navigated the challenges of establishing a standalone marketing function post-spinoff and learn about the innovative approaches employed to align brand storytelling with demand generation efforts. From overcoming resistance to fostering collaboration between brand and commercial teams, Rodgers will provide practical advice and real-world examples to inspire marketers at every level.

  • In today’s rapidly evolving media and buying landscape, authenticity and meaningful experiences have become paramount. B2B marketing teams face mounting challenges, from aligning with sales to authentically engaging their audiences. This session will uncover how to tap into an often-overlooked asset: your internal subject matter experts. With research revealing that 53% of consumers trust employees more than companies, and 77% prefer hearing from specialized experts over executives, there is an unprecedented opportunity for B2B companies to amplify employee perspectives strategically. 

    Explore how transforming passive employee advocacy efforts into a structured, impactful social selling strategy can unlock new growth. Discover how employee voices, when supported by strategic marketing efforts and smart paid support, can create genuine connections, build brand credibility, and drive sales—all while doing more with less. Join us to learn how to activate your internal expertise and position your company for success in this new era of human-first B2B marketing. 

  • A legacy to last another 100 years...

    In this inspiring episode, you’ll hear from Kate Rodgers, Head of Global Employer Brand at GE HealthCare, as she reveals details of GE HealthCare's spin-off from GE, and how brand storytelling can drive real business outcomes, while creating a lasting legacy.

    Dive in and hear all about:

    • How GE Healthcare pivoted to powerful brand strategy during the pandemic.

    • The impact of compelling stories on demand generation and sales.

    • A modern marketer's approach to integrating brand and demand 

    Kate brings alllll the energy in this episode. Don’t miss out on this eventful journey for GE Healthcare and learn how their unique approach to storytelling has transformed their marketing strategy. 

  • In today's digital landscape, successful brands must balance data-driven decision-making with authentic storytelling. Drawing from her unique background in science and experience leading Fortune 500 brand transformations, Kate Smiley (Rodgers) shares how organizations can leverage data to create meaningful connections while building truly inclusive brands. Through practical case studies, including GE HealthCare's historic spin-off and rebrand, Kate demonstrates how companies can measure and maximize the impact of their brand initiatives. She explores the intersection of DEI and business outcomes, revealing how data-backed inclusive marketing drives tangible results in both talent acquisition and market growth.

    Perfect for marketing leaders seeking to create meaningful impact through evidence-based brand strategies. 

  • In today’s rapidly evolving media and buying landscape, authenticity and meaningful experiences have become paramount. B2B marketing teams face mounting challenges, from aligning with sales to authentically engaging their audiences. This session will uncover how to tap into an often-overlooked asset: your internal subject matter experts. With research revealing that 53% of consumers trust employees more than companies, and 77% prefer hearing from specialized experts over executives, there is an unprecedented opportunity for B2B companies to amplify employee perspectives strategically. 

    Explore how transforming passive employee advocacy efforts into a structured, impactful social selling strategy can unlock new growth. Discover how employee voices, when supported by strategic marketing efforts and smart paid support, can create genuine connections, build brand credibility, and drive sales—all while doing more with less. Join us to learn how to activate your internal expertise and position your company for success in this new era of human-first B2B marketing. 

  • Most newspapers are struggling to find the right digital strategy. Television is being supplanted by a myriad of streaming services. Social media is encountering massive public mistrust, not to mention rumbles of government regulation. So, what’s a young company to do? Learn about multiple approaches to telling your story. After all, it’s all about attracting and retaining customers – and positioning your firm for growth.

  • We are excited to invite you to a dynamic two-hour session focused on "Designing a Human-Centric Employee Value Proposition." As HR leaders, you play a pivotal role in shaping the future of work, and this session will delve into key themes to help you craft a value proposition that truly resonates with your employees. We will explore the following critical topics:

    • Employee Experience and Engagement: Understanding and enhancing the employee journey to boost satisfaction and retention.

    • Work-Life Integration: Strategies for promoting a healthy work-life balance that supports employee well-being and productivity.

    • Inclusive and Diverse Work Environments: Creating a culture of inclusion that values diversity and drives innovation.

    • Career Development and Growth: Developing robust career paths and learning opportunities that align with employees' aspirations.

    • Wellness and Mental Health Support: Implementing comprehensive wellness programs that address physical, mental, and emotional health.


    Join us to share your insights, learn from your peers, and co-create strategies that will make your Employee Value Proposition a cornerstone of your organization's success. Your participation and expertise are invaluable as we work together to design a workplace that truly values and supports its people.

  • The healthcare sector has certainly shifted in the last few years. From the pandemic to a shift to digital, marketing leaders have had to pivot their strategies at the drop of a hat. In an ever-changing market, that trend continues as the healthcare industry evolves in 2024.

    What is the data behind this conclusion? Our Propolis Community Index indicates that healthcare marketing teams have a budget that equals 6% of their overall revenue target and are spending more than other sectors such as technology and professional services. Compared to the wider industry, that’s quite significant. Want to find out why that is alongside some other juicy real-time insights?

    In this webinar, we are going to be unveiling some of the latest data from our Propolis Community Index Report on the B2B healthcare industry. We will be joined by Kate Rodgers, Global Brand Media Director at GE Healthcare, and Rebecca Goplin, Senior Director of Marketing at PlatformQ Health, as we chat through:

    • Why healthcare marketing teams might have more robust budgets than other B2B sectors.

    • How healthcare marketers are using third-party support for activities such as content marketing, demand generation, and ABM.

    • Why customer retention might not be a top priority for healthcare marketers and what that says about the industry.

    • What trends can we expect in the healthcare sector and how should marketers be preparing for these changes?

  • There are many exciting career opportunities and challenges faced by the next generation of early career science communicators as they transition into the professional industry. Last week in the department, LSC alumni from various companies came together to provide career development advice and guidance for LSC students at all stages of their careers.

    As a part of a larger LSC career panel series, this panel focused on the health and biotech industries. LSC alumni panelists included Kylie Gullett (’17) who works for PharmaSeek as an Associate Manager of Marketing and Communications, Amy Olejniczak (BS. ’03, MS. ’05) who is the Associate Director for the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, Kate Rodgers (’16) who is the Communications Lead at GE Healthcare, and Julia Tweeten (’16) who works for Propeller Health as the Program Coordinator.

    Panelists provided great advice about what students can be currently doing for their careers, and how to advance their skill sets while in school. They also spoke about the best practices for finding open positions in their respective fields and selling one’s passion and willingness to learn when speaking to a prospective employer.

    A few key takeaways from the event were:

    • Create an online portfolio for prospective employers to view. When applying for positions, employers like to be able to view your work while looking at your application.

    • When asked for a writing sample, tailor it to whomever will be reading it. Send science related pieces to a science corporation. Employers are looking to see that you can write for their intended audience.

    • Put yourself out there and network not only within your industry but outside of it. The more connections you have the better. You never know when you need to call upon a connection!

    • Be able to articulate your passion for the industry and how it relates to the company’s mission. Employers are looking for candidates who are passionate about the work the company is doing and make selections based on it.

    • Finally, say ‘yes’ to everything that comes your way professionally. Apply for a variety of internships because then you will be able to know what industries and tasks you enjoy the most and the least. Any experience is great experience, but don’t stretch yourself too thin.