2026 Awards

Kate Doerge

Experts

USA Today Bestselling Author

Kate Doerge is a USA TODAY bestselling author, motivational speaker, certified grief coach, brand strategist, and nonprofit founder whose work centers on resilience, connection, purpose, and finding a way forward when life doesn’t go as planned. She is the author of Reimagining Grief: A New Path to Finding Healing, Strength and Joy After Loss (Hay House), a deeply personal and actionable guide inspired by her own experiences with profound loss. Within six years, Kate lost her father to heart failure, her mother in a car accident, and, unimaginably, her 16-year-old daughter, Penny, to glioblastoma caused by neurofibromatosis (NF). Rather than allowing loss to define what came next, Kate made a choice to move forward with purpose. She co-founded Penny’s Flight Foundation in honor of Penny to raise awareness and critical funding for NF research and to carry forward Penny’s legacy of joy, kindness, and positivity. Today, Kate brings her message to corporations, schools, wellness communities, and audiences across the country through keynotes, workshops, and conversations about navigating grief, adversity, change, and life’s unexpected challenges. Her work is grounded in a belief passed down from her father: We don’t choose the cards we’re dealt, but we do choose how we play them. At the heart of everything Kate does is a simple philosophy: It’s not your lifespan that matters. It’s your wingspan—the impact you have on others while you’re here.

Confirmed Summit attendance does not confirm an Awards appearance, performance, or honor.