Katie Stephens

Katie Stephens is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of The Conscious Kid, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering children through access to diverse books and culturally relevant education. Over the past decade, she has built the partnerships, fundraising, events, and operational systems that have grown the organization into a national force, putting more than 500,000 diverse children’s books into the hands of students across 10,000 Title I schools in all 50 states.

Katie has led high-impact partnerships and community initiatives with organizations including the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL Players Association, the WNBA, Disney, Google, and Stanford, producing large-scale events and activations that connect families, donors, and communities around a shared mission. Her work spans fundraising, donor stewardship, strategic partnership development, and the design and execution of events that translate vision into measurable community impact.

Katie has taught critical media literacy at UC San Diego and has published and presented work on culturally relevant education, early childhood development, and identity. She earned her Master of Social Work from Howard University, where she graduated summa cum laude. Whether through a national book donation, a corporate partnership, or a community event, her work is grounded in a single belief: that every child deserves to see themselves reflected, affirmed, and empowered, and that when we invest in kids, we strengthen entire communities.