Meet some of our graduates.
Cat Gelinas
Software Engineer / Family Constellations Facilitator
Uncomfortable conversations don't leave me stumped anymore. I can stay grounded and even take in an uncomfortable silence with ease. This has helped me in all interactions with friends, family, and co-workers.
Maurya Sullivan, JD
Coach, Counselor, Wife and Mother
Studying with Kasia has saved my marriage. I am able to have more direct conversations with my husband. Our sex is incredible because I learned how to ask for what I want in a way that builds connection rather than breaking it.
The exercises and visceral experiences provided the opportunity for me to feel myself in a very different way. Particularly in my courtroom training, I had been trained to look and act powerful and in control. And I mimed that very well. Yet it was just a distraction from the insecurity that was my core. I can now tap an authentic inner space that can't be fucked with.
Anonymous
Peacebuilder / Conflict Mediator
Having a job that puts me in the position of negotiating with powerful men, from NATO generals to local militia leaders in Northern Nigeria, I always struggled to bring my feminine energy into the room. I felt my only option was to adopt the masculine style of leadership.
After 20 years of peacebuilding and working as a conflict mediator, I walked out from Power With Men with far more skills than any formal training had provided me.
Kasia showed me a different, and equally powerful way. Suddenly I had the tools to dig myself out. My attention had been so focused inward that I was not able to truly be heard.
Thanks to this phenomenal class, I am not only able to take my newfound skills to my personal life, but it has tremendously impacted my professional life.
Martha Williams
Creative Director, Director, Writer, Storyteller, sometimes Performer & Culturalist
I was surprised by the simplicity behind Kasia's philosophy of power dynamics. From her class I not only finally understood the world of power, but could also play inside if it. This is crucial especially for women living in a man's world.
I'm a writer/director, so developing a deeper sense of human behavior always improves my work. Aside from that, studying with Kasia has allowed me to ask for help in clearer, more direct ways. So instead of wielding power, I use Kasia's approach to more effectively raise the tides of my team as a whole. Now I don't apologize for the things when I ask for them. As a director, this has created a more solid ground for the work to be made and for my team to thrive.
Hanna Steplewska Kubiak, BSc, MSc
Dir. Business Development, RUAG Space USA, Visiting Lecturer, International Space University, Mentor, Lightspeed Innovations, Board of Directors, BoldLeaders.Org, PADI and PSIA professional.
Over a 20-year career in international aerospace business development, I have routinely presented to, negotiated with, and closed multimillion-dollar deals with rooms solely comprised of men – including multinational CEOs, government ministers and Generals across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Very rarely was there another woman in the room.
Kasia’s Foundations of Power class exponentially improved my ability to read and influence power dynamics in the room, move past any moments of speechlessness or uncertainty, make and receive requests powerfully and negotiate successfully at all levels.
An unexpected side effect of the class was a much greater capacity for human connection, communication and understanding – and a much more feminine approach to work and life. Finally, I had a blueprint for feminine leadership that felt strong, authentic and unforced – and worked. It was more powerful than everything I had previously learned in my over 30 years’ worth of coaching and mentoring training.
The clear communication that Kasia teaches enables personal and professional growth, but more importantly it also has the capacity to prevent harm and save lives. The tools, techniques and strategies taught in the Foundations course are applicable to both men and women, and – with an adjustment of intensity – just as appropriate for the family dinner table as the boardroom.
As we look to the stars and think about “hundreds of millions of people living and working in space” (Jeff Bezos’ vision), the importance of clear, effective communication and unambiguous power dynamics cannot be underestimated. Kasia’s classes are a springboard the communication we need for that future.
Clare Monteau, PhD
Corporate Trainer and Coach
Working with Kasia taught me that attention is EVERYTHING. And once you feel that and can sense what is going on in a conversation, you get to choose how the conversation goes.
My communication in my marriage is so much clearer. Dynamics that were invisible are now completely clear. That has enabled me to stay in conversations and situations I that previously would have felt defeated, angry and hurt in. I am way more influential and able to love more fiercely than was possible before.
The biggest surprise for me from doing this work was how much more love I am able to feel. These underlying invisible dynamics meant that I had unknowingly shut down so much of who I was in order to feel safe. Once they were visible, and the powerlessness I felt (sometimes without even being conscious of it) began to shift, love got liberated.
Jenn Sutherland
Digital Experience Director
Before I found The Academy, I'd lost a job that I was very good at. I was bullied out by an executive who I had no idea how to respond to or counter. Working with Kasia gave me vital tools I needed to be fearless in the boardroom, and use power structures to my advantage to help the whole company to succeed.
Working with Kasia made me realize how resistant I was to asking anyone, for anything to help or support me. Focused on my own self reliance in the world as a feminist woman, I had no idea how to ask for help, and my spirit resisted that very act.
Now my husband and I have honest conversations about needs and desires, and the most basic exercise, the Asking Practice, is one that we use daily - so simple and so transformative in our home. Our partnership is stronger, and we're both more comfortable and less vulnerable in large and small asks.