Kathleen Gratehouse

Creative campaigns, executive thought leadership and developing narratives and storylines that align and drive business goals. I also do a lot of media coaching. I like to ask hard questions.

I was a producer at CNN and wanted to try something that was complementary to journalism, where I had the opportunity to learn every day and work in a fast paced environment. This checked all the boxes and more.

One of the best mentors I had in my career was Bob Novak. I was an intern on one of the public affairs shows on CNN and every Saturday I worked with him on Capital Gang where he was also producer. What I admired was his passion for his career (40 plus years in), his perfectionism, sense of humor and high standards. I never shared any of his political beliefs, but he made me a better producer every single week. Judy Woodruff was also a notable boss and mentor—she taught me that preparation is everything, take nothing for granted and never stop striving for new successes. Also, from a productivity standpoint, she could give any Lifehacker out there a lot of pointers.

Building great teams and seeing people grow at Highwire.

Calling a client the wrong name (more than once) during a pitch… still painful.

Highwire offered the opportunity to build something from the ground up, work with great clients and partners, grow and mentor careers and teams and challenge myself everyday.

Read, read, read and then sleep on it. By the time I hit the shower something has usually hit me.

Passion and trust.

Our firm is young and has so many new places to go. I look forward to fostering a culture where there is constant learning and new challenges for every person at any level.