For your next corporate keynote speaker, activate teams, prevent burnout, and grow resilience with Cat Slack’s

Busting Bootstraps

The Myth of Going It Alone and the Truth About What Really Lifts Us

TRUSTED BY

  • Ignite Talks
  • Dreamforce
  • Feeding America
  • Meals on Wheels America
  • Hult International Business School
  • San Jose State University
  • United Way
  • YWCA
  • Beyond Borders
  • US Peace Corps
  • Chief Marketing Officer Summit
  • Regent Bank
  • Dominican University
  • Santa Rosa Junior College
  • Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy
  • North Texas Food Bank
  • Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
  • Association for the Advancement of Women's Philanthropy

TRUSTED BY

  • Ignite Talks
  • Dreamforce
  • Feeding America
  • Meals on Wheels America
  • Hult International Business School
  • San Jose State University
  • United Way
  • YWCA
  • Beyond Borders
  • US Peace Corps
  • Chief Marketing Officer Summit
  • Regent Bank
  • Dominican University
  • Santa Rosa Junior College
  • Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy
  • North Texas Food Bank
  • Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
  • Association for the Advancement of Women's Philanthropy

Meet Cat

Cat is a strategic closer who uses storytelling to drive mission-based results. She has raised over half a billion dollars for nonprofits worldwide. Her own “bootstraps” story with homelessness brings a deeply personal and heartfelt perspective to her work and speeches. Cat’s work has been featured by The Atlantic, Metallica’s blog, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Hundred Magazine, countless ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX affiliates, and more.

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AS SEEN IN

AS SEEN IN

When companies need to activate teams, fight burnout, and grow resilience, they need Cat to Bust Bootstraps

We live in a culture obsessed with the myth of the self-made success story. The dominant narrative tells us that if we just try hard enough, grind long enough, and suffer silently enough, we’ll make it.

What that story leaves out is community - and without it, we’re burning out.

This hyper-individualized mindset doesn’t empower us; it isolates us. It shames us for needing help, even though no meaningful success happens in a vacuum.

Cat teaches, inspires, and entertains

In this keynote, Cat entertains with stories from decades of raising money for nonprofits all over the world to create a mindset shift for her audiences.

She teaches her proprietary GIVE framework: four principles for growing community and busting the bootstraps myth.

The audience will move from seeing resilience as an individual grind to understanding it as a collective advantage.

1. Give the adversity a name

We can’t grow from what we refuse to face. Naming the adversity is the first step in telling the truth and rewriting the story.

2. Imagine a new definition of success

Instead of chasing someone else’s version of winning, define what success looks like for you.

3. Voice your strength

Your resilience is real and is a powerful part of lasting change.

4. Engage your community

Progress and innovation happen better in community. Ask for help and offer it freely. Build a room full of people who show up, and in turn show up for them.

Cat will make you laugh, she might make you cry, and she’ll definitely remind you that none of us are meant to do this work in isolation.

Trusted and Transformational

99% of attendees would recommend Cat’s talks to others because they walk away inspired, equipped, and ready to take action. Here’s what people are saying:

  • “Cat is outstanding. She is an incredible leader and one of the best speakers I have ever seen. She can also raise money with the best of them. She is sincere, genuinely interested in the people, and dynamic.”

    – Joe Pert, President, Board of Directors, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley –

  • "Excellent work, thanks for sharing!! I don’t hear content like this elsewhere."

    – Steven Mandeville –

  • "Cat’s energy and expertise both taught our team and helped bond us. This was amazing!"

    – Natanja Craig Oquendo, CEO, Boston Women’s Fund –

  • "Freaking amazing!!!"

    – Attendee Feedback, Feeding America National Summit –

  • "Cat uses her energy, candor, and humor to authentically connect to attendees. She neither talks over or talks down to her audience. "

    – Karen Senger, Food Bank of Northern Nevada –

  • "Cat's workshop was not just another meeting but a transformative experience that equipped our board with practical tools designed to inspire and stimulate action. The impact of her session was immediate."

    – Shannon Price, Executive Director, Edmond Fine Arts Institute –

  • "Thanks for being awesome and for walking with this org thru the messy middle!"

    – Misti McClellan –

  • "Very energetic and entertaining speaker! Loved the interaction!"

    – Conference Attendee –