Kathleen Wisemandle

About Kathleen Wisemandle

Helping Leaders Lead with Purpose and Agility: With their Whole SelvesAfter a meaningful 30-year career in drug development, I’ve navigated my own next chapter—combining leadership experience with organizational psychology and insights into how people learn and adapt to help leaders and founders explore what’s possible, both personally and professionally.With over 400 hours of coaching experience, I work with leaders at all levels and founders navigating growing businesses, creating space to reflect, clarify, and align their next steps with their values and purpose.Through a process grounded in evidence, real-world experience, and thoughtful discovery, we uncover your unique strengths, perspectives, and opportunities—helping you make meaning of your path and move forward with intention.Whether you’re stepping into expanded leadership, shaping the next chapter of your career, or exploring what’s possible for your life and work, the focus is on you—your goals, your values, and your vision for what comes next.I\'m an experienced leader-practitioner in process improvement and transformational change, translating organizational design concepts into practical structures, roles, and workflows that support strategy and growth.I’ve built, led and empowered high-performing teams through transformational change and pandemic remote work - all while delivering high-stakes deliverables during times of complexity and uncertainty. I guide leaders to align people, systems, and strategy—translating scientific vision into scalable, efficient operations by using an adaptive leadership style to complement their technical skills.Quote from a recent client:“Finding effective partnerships that genuinely contribute to our goals is pivotal. My experience with Kathleen\'s Coaching has been rewarding. The coaching engagement met all my expectations, timelines, and budget constraints.I would absolutely recommend Kathleen to others, particularly for the attentive listening and excellent synthesis of complex ideas presented during our sessions. What stood out the most was the visual summary provided during our sessions. This tool was not just illustrative but powerful in catalyzing our strategic planning and decision-making processes. It enhanced our discussions, making them significantly useful in our actions.These aspects were instrumental in providing the clarity and direction we needed to propel our mission forward.\"- Founder & CEO, Non-profit Organization

Experience

1. Limited Partner

   Capitalize Vc

   Sep 2023 — Present

Education

• Northwestern University

  Executive coaching, Organizational Leadership

  2022 — 2022

• Michigan State University

  BS, Biochemistry with honors

• Northwestern University

  Master of Science, Learning and Organizational Change

  2016 — 2019

• Northwestern University

  Designing for Organizational Effectiveness Certification, Organizational Design

  2017 — 2018

• Capella University

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Industrial and Organizational Psychology