About Pulley
Creativity thrives within wise constraints.
Pulley Advising LLC draws its name from the dual utility of physics and poetry. A pulley is a simple machine that requires relatively little effort to unleash a lot of force. Likewise, the 17th century poem “The Pulley” by George Herbert illustrates how the constraints of structure and rest paradoxically help to accommodate an abundant range of expressions and possibilities.
As an independent consulting practice that helps mission-minded clients maximize their care and service to others, Pulley helps leaders and teams know where and how to apply strategic leverage for outsized impact while seeking sustainable and creative human-scale solutions that honor practical limitations.
Meet Kate
Strategist, writer, and thinking partner.
Kate Harris is a strategy consultant, writer, and the Founder and Principal of Pulley Advising LLC (formerly Sapienne LLC), a creative strategy firm that helps mission-minded organizations grow their impact.
She began her career as a press officer for the Colorado State Senate before moving to Washington, D.C., to work in strategic communications for U.S. Senate leadership. In 2006, she left Capitol Hill to help found Wedgwood Circle, an investment network supporting strategic patronage in the arts. While living abroad in the UK, she supported business development for the University of Oxford Estates Division and managed special projects for global consultancy Oxford Analytica.
Upon returning to the U.S., Kate served as Executive Director of The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture, and later as Interim Executive Director of The Fellows Initiative. Most recently, she served as Director of Outreach and Development for the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), overseeing strategic and crisis communications, ministry relations, and development.
A sought-after speaker and writer, Kate addresses audiences nationwide at churches, retreats, and national conferences, including the Duke Leadership Initiative, the Q Ideas Conference, Laity Lodge, and Christianity Today's Redeeming Work Conference. Her writing has appeared in Comment magazine, The High Calling, Patheos, Q Ideas, and ArtHouse America. She is the author of Wonder Woman: Navigating the Challenges of Motherhood, Career, and Identity (Zondervan, 2014) and served as Assistant Producer of ReFrame, a 10-week film series created by Regent College connecting faith to daily life.
Kate holds an M.A. in English Literature and a B.S. in Journalism with a minor in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since 2020 she has been engaged in a focused post-graduate tutorial study with Sharon Daloz Parks, PhD, to explore the dynamic role of imagination in adult faith formation. She currently serves on the board of Theological Horizons at the University of Virginia.
Kate is a Colorado native who now lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and four children. Outside of her strategy work, she periodically assists women as a certified birth doula and enjoys hiking, poetry, cooking, traveling, and time with family and friends.
Let’s talk
Where could a little leverage go a long way for you?
Tell me about the change you’re leading. We’ll find the simple, high-impact place to begin.