Katie P. Desiderio, Ph.D.

Katie P. Desiderio, Ph.D. is an organizational learning and leadership scholar, executive coach, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of The Beekeeper: Pollinating Your Organization for Transformative Growth and The Stargazer: Unleashing the Brilliance of Building Brighter Teams. Her work focuses on optimizing human performance at the tri-level of leadership: individual, team, and organization, helping leaders spark growth that is both measurable and meaningful.

With over 20 years of experience in leadership development, higher education, and change management, Dr. Desiderio equips organizations to build cultures rooted in trust, curiosity, and courageous learning. She holds an MBA, a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning & Leadership, and a Lifestyle & Wellness Coaching Certificate from Harvard Medical School, integrating evidence-based leadership science with whole-person performance.

In addition to serving as Professor of Management at Moravian University, she is the founder of Proximal Development, a boutique leadership consultancy partnering with executives and teams to translate insight into impact.

A former collegiate soccer captain and assistant coach, Katie brings an athlete’s mindset to leadership: disciplined, team-centered, and built for endurance. She is also the proud mom of two young leaders who compete in elite soccer, a role that continues to shape her belief that leadership is modeled long before it is titled.

Known for her dynamic presence and practical wisdom, Katie challenges audiences to rethink what it means to lead, to learn, and to empower others in a world of constant change.

Above all, she believes leadership is not about position. It is about proximity.

She is the author of the award-winning Breathe, Mama, Breathe: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Busy Moms and Don’t Forget to Breathe: 5-Minute Mindfulness for Busy Women. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Working Mother, Psychology Today, and CNBC, and she has appeared on numerous television segments and podcasts.

Shonda lives in the Lehigh Valley with her husband and two kids, loves to play outside, and is perennially fascinated by what makes people tick.