Kathleen A. Bethel - Author Bio

The author has a diverse range of professional experience. As an award-winning businesswoman, she has proven her ability to consistently lead projects to successful completion.

As a Writer: Over thirty “Specials” and OP-EDs were published “above the fold” in the Arizona Daily Star and Buffalo News, including “Sister Suffragettes”, “Women in the Box”, “Backlash”, “Experiencing Congressional Whiplash”, and, most recently, “Our Nation Must Fix It, Not Break It”.  She was selected as a Fellow in the national project, “Tucson Public Voices: The OP-ED Project.” Her poetry was most recently published in “Oberon” (2024).

As a CEO, Fundraiser, and Speechwriter: The author’s most recent position was as the CEO of SARSEF, a science foundation where she was solely responsible for increasing the organization’s annual income exponentially, increasing the annual income from sixty thousand to over a million dollars annually. This resulted in a 1,566.8% increase in revenue and an increase in the number of clients served.  She was awarded the “Top Nonprofit CEO of the Year” by “Tucson Business” in 2018 and “Woman of Influence” in 2016, as well as the national Peter Drucker Institute’s award of “Top Ten Non-profit Leadership” in 2017. Her success rate in writing grants remained consistently high for ten years, at 93 percent.

In Leadership: As the CEO of the science foundation, Kathleen’s ability to form valuable relationships raised a total of over $7,000,000 in revenue from major corporations such as Raytheon, Roche, Verizon, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power, COX, State Farm, Freeport McMoRan, and thirty other corporations and foundations. Behind every corporate sponsorship was an individual whom the author met with and persuaded to invest. This ability is evident in all her projects. She knows how to “get in the door” and work hard for fast results.

As an Educator, Consultant, and Communicator: The author previously served as an elementary school principal and educator for over thirty years and as an administrator at the University of Arizona’s College of Engineering. The author earned a doctorate in Educational Administration from Texas Tech University. When asked why her work in education matters in her role as a writer, she stated that she understands the power of communicating in a register that invites people to listen to what she has to say. And, as the school principal in a school located in the area with the highest crime rate in Tucson, she witnessed how the most vulnerable members of our society face challenges so grave that it seems unlikely that anything other than a wish can overcome them.

The author reminds us, hope is always on the horizon.