Kathryn Goetzke, MBA, is the CEO and Chief Hope Officer of The Shine Hope Company, a global platform advancing Hope as a measurable and teachable public health strategy. She is the author of The Biggest Little Book About Hope, host of The Hope Matrix podcast, and creator of the award-winning Hopeful Minds, Hopeful Cities, and Hopeful Mindsets programs, which equip individuals, schools, workplaces, and communities with practical skills to proactively manage moments of hopelessness and move toward measurable Hope.
She is also the Founder of iFred, a 501c3 organization established in 2004 to rebrand mental health, advance prevention, and expand access to treatment through public awareness campaigns, celebrity engagement, brain science education, universal symbolism, and a strengths-based narrative. That early work laid the foundation for what later evolved into measurable, teachable Hope-based methodologies now operationalized through The Shine Hope Company.
Kathryn represents the World Federation for Mental Health at the United Nations. Founded in 1948, WFMH is the first global mental health organization and sets the annual theme for World Mental Health Day. She contributed to advancing mental health within the Sustainable Development Goals and to the establishment of the International Day of Hope at the United Nations, now observed annually on July 12.
A pioneering social entrepreneur, Kathryn launched Mood-lites™ in 2004, a consumer brand that generated more than $35 million in retail sales and helped lead one of the first large-scale cause marketing campaigns for mental health.
She has spoken multiple times at the United Nations and has delivered keynotes and presentations for Walmart, Guggenheim Partners, the National Association of School Nurses, UCLA, Harvard University, Columbia University, and other global institutions.
Kathryn has worked alongside public sector leaders including the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Mayor of Reno to integrate Hope-based public health strategy into communities.
She has published in peer-reviewed academic journals on Hope and its application in education and public health, contributing to the growing body of research demonstrating that Hope is a skill that can be strengthened.
Kathryn’s commitment to this work is both professional and deeply personal. She lost her father to suicide at age 18 and later survived her own suicide attempt. Through therapy, medication, recovery, lifestyle change, and learning how to actively build Hope, she transformed her life. She has been sober for over 20 years.
Her mission is to ensure that every person understands what hopelessness is, recognizes it early, and knows how to strengthen Hope in real time.
Favorite Stress Skill: Meditation
Non-Negotiable Happiness Habits: Exercise, sleep, and 80 percent whole, healthy foods
Current Stretch Goal: Ensuring that all around the world know how to proactively navigate hopelessness in healthy ways by using the skills to Shine Hope.
