Founder and CEO of dcdx and offline (a dcdx company), Forbes 30 Under 30 2025

“Kate possesses the unique combination of curiosity and hunger; hunger for more and to find the hidden truths. Working with Kate at dcdx has been nothing short of inspiring - there's a light she brings to difficult topics that makes them not so difficult, and that ability makes her such a valuable addition to our team, in addition to just being a damn good person.”

Founder, Invisible Threads: Regenerative media, education and strategies to heal the nervous system of democracy; Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for her Washington Post cover of Jan 6 Insurrection; visiting affiliate scholar at Georgetown’s Psychology Department'; Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Red House R&D unit.

“Kate Barranco cares deeply about the health and wellbeing of people and communities and recognizes that existing policies and practices often do not serve either well. She is a creative, outside-the-box thinker, unrelenting in her quest for solutions that address both short-term problems and the need for long-term transformation.”

Program Director, Pro-Democracy Political Coalitions, Democracy 2076

“As a Youth Representative on our strategic foresight process at Democracy 2076, Kate brought an essential perspective that deepened our work. Kate's input on how she is observing our emerging divides, from the intensifying mental-health landscape and the generational shift toward engaging trauma with honesty, to the ways AI is reshaping health solutions and the profound sense of responsibility young people carry for challenges they didn’t create were cited in our report as examples and evidence of these emerging axes.

Kate also shared her perspective on how social media is already shaping civic identity in today's youth in ways the rest of the field is only beginning to grasp. Her contributions were observant, curious, critical and optimistic.”

Executive Director, Youth Move National

“I've worked with Kate in a number of capacities. I've served on a number of boards with her where she has been anything from my supervisor, to supervisee, to equal collaborative team member. I've worked on seperate projects and programs with her in various forms. I've seen her present, facilitate, train, I've even interviewed her, and she has interviewed me! I've just about worked with Kate and seen her perform in every way, shape, or form imaginable. However, no matter what the work or setting there is always the same through lines. Kate is not only consistently knowledgeable, strategic, thorough, and effective and efficient on just about everything and every topic, but she is an absolute joy to work with as well, which don't always go together. Her ability to be a thought partner and think deeply around big complex ideas on a macro level, while being able to translate those ideas clearly into actions and data driven implementation on a micro level is an impressive way of thinking I've yet to achieve. And again, she does it all with an authentic positive attitude, joy, and a hopeful orientation that is not only impressive, but infectious as well. Not only will you get amazing work done with Kate - you'll have fun doing it too”

Founder, Catch Yourself Smiling; Host, Parks Podcast- USA

““I have had the privilege of working with Kate in two capacities. First, working with her during her time at Georgetown, where she was involved in Intergenerational Trauma Research in partnership with The Wellbeing Project. I was consistently impressed by her ability to take charge of discussions, regardless of who was at the table. Kate was well-informed about the subject matter, had clear objectives, and held everyone accountable. After graduating, Kate joined The Wellbeing Project's Storytelling team, where her contributions were invaluable. She quickly became an expert on Ecological Belonging and adeptly integrated this messaging across various storytelling initiatives. Moreover, she proactively learned about her colleagues' projects, finding ways to support and enhance their work within her area of expertise. Kate is a visionary who approaches her work with an open mind and a sense of endless possibilities. She challenges the status quo and advocates for what is right, inspiring the team to pursue the most impactful strategies aligned with our organizational goals. As a team member, Kate is collaborative and supportive, and her positive enthusiasm is infectious throughout the organization. She is truly a valuable asset to our team.”

Brand & Socials Manager, Storteyller, Strategist at Timeleft - Argentina

“Kate turned a coffee-chat into a moment of deep introspection and cultural analysis. She brought forth topics that refreshed our brand's editorial direction and crafted them into narratives that helped build our brand voice instead of just 'fit' into it. From her responsiveness, creative direction, cultural intelligence to her witt -- Kate is a narrative leader through and through. I can't recommend her and her work enough.”

Special Initiatives and Projects Lead at The Wellbeing Project (Ecological Belonging Lead) - Stockholm, Sweden

“I had the pleasure of managing Kate in a global NGO. She was part of a team that was developing a new global program focused on wellbeing, belonging, and deep ecology. The challenges of starting a new program bring lots of emergent factors that require flexibility, creativity, and a deep ability to make sense of many elements in order to develop something worthwhile for the public. The work involved stakeholders and partners from around the globe, and Kate was an invaluable member of the team. Smart, thoughtful, empathetic, and diligent, Kate was able to take complex and varied ideas and thoughtfully structure them in a way that was extremely valuable and helpful to our efforts. She's a very intelligent and structured person who was able to work with minimal supervision but with high quality results. Plus she was a wonderful person to have on the team simply because she's such a great person. I highly recommend Kate and trust she will do great things in her career and to the benefit of society.”

Founder, Solvable - Vancouver, Canada

“I had a chance to work directly with Kate when Solvable was hired to design and facilitate the Ecological Belonging Innovation Fellowship for the Wellbeing Project. Kate was on the client team. She not only provided excellent feedback on our designs, but also offered novel approaches that directly influenced some of the design. In particular, her insights were critical in helping arrive at the 8 (Provisional) Elements of Ecological Belonging. I would heartily recommend working with Kate as a designer and facilitator. 

Social Health Clinician; The Foundation for Social Connection, Social Connection Fellow (former)

Kate’s brilliance was integral to the development of The Foundation for Social Connection’s resource on the importance of intergenerational dialogue in advancing social connection in the age of GenAI. She played a key role in designing our workshops and focus groups with a sharp, thoughtful eye, facilitated them with skill and warmth, and analyzed qualitative data with meticulous care.

I was continually impressed by Kate’s deep knowledge of intergenerational resilience and her thoughtful approach to engaging young people in meaningful ways. She has a rare talent for creating open, welcoming spaces that foster trust and spark genuine dialogue—something that was noted by all of our colleagues on the project.

Kate was an indispensable thought partner throughout the process, and I am deeply grateful for her contributions in helping us bring the final product to life. I would work with her again in a heartbeat - and I sincerely hope I have the privilege of doing so soon!

Senior Program Developer, Red House (R&D Unit Georgetown University); Designing the Future(s) of the University

I”’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Kate for 5 years. She is reliable, rigorous, and cares about making a change in the world by bringing together many perspectives and disciplines. I can always count on her to be punctual, prepared, detail-oriented and above all she has the ability to keep the details in conversation with the bigger picture. This is not easy to do well yet is critical when dealing with complex problems, and she does it with professionalism and incisiveness. Kate is a strong listener and a provocative questioner. She is caring, curious, and dedicated to seeing projects through. A joy to work with. And Conscious Futures is exactly the kind of approach our world needs right now.”

Founder of ‘Dim’ | Chairperson of ‘The End OSEAC Survivors Council’ | Social Work Student

"Kate Barranco is a true breath of fresh air in a chaotic and pessimistic world. She doesn’t settle for the harsh "terms" of our disagreeable reality; instead, she reimagines them from the ground up. She envisions futures built on her pillars of hope, passion, creativity, and genuine relationships. If you’re looking to breathe deeply, challenge the rules, and truly imagine, then Kate Barranco is exactly the person you’ve been looking for."