Kate Burnett

• COO
• Bridgehead

Kate Burnett is the Chief Operations Officer of Bridgehead. She has been with the organization since 2017, after moving back to Ottawa with her family. Kate actively pursued a role with Bridgehead based on its commitment to people (farmers, suppliers, customers and staff), the local community and the environment. The idea of having a Bridgehead flat white every morning just pushed her over the edge.

Prior to Bridgehead, Kate worked for Me to We, an innovative social enterprise based in Toronto focused on empowering people to change the world. She held multiple roles over her seven years there, including the Director of Consumer Engagement (building the retail side of the enterprise), Director of Business Development (working with partners to support initiatives and products with impact) and eventually as the Deputy Chief Operating Director (joining the Executive team to help lead and manage the growing enterprise).

Kate completed an honors undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario with a double major in English and Psychology. She later completed an MBA from the University of Victoria with a focus on service management (marketing, operations and customer service). She received multiple scholarships including the Canada’s CEO of the Year – Futures Fund Scholarship and was the President of the Student Council.

Before Me to We, Kate was the Associate Director of Camp Kandalore, a traditional summer camp with a focus on leadership and canoe tripping. Prior to this, she spent sixteen summers attending and then working at Camp Tawingo, which nurtured her passion for making a difference. Kate has travelled to over thirty countries and has been lucky enough to have been able to volunteer in South Africa at a camp for children affected by HIV/AIDS as well as in Rwanda with youth affected by the genocide.

She believes that using innovative business practices to make a positive impact is the most efficient and effective way to change the world. ​

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About This Talk

Kate Burnett, COO of Bridgehead, will speak about the importance of local leadership, vision and goal-setting in shaping the future of coffee communities. She will draw from her experiences working with the women and men from Bukonzo Joint Cooperative, one of Uganda's leading producers of specialty washed Arabica coffee and winner of the 2015 SCAA Sustainability Award. Discover how a coffee community has achieved a remarkable economic and social transformation in less than a decade and how we can learn from their experience and apply these lessons to our own lives. ​