Helloooo toesies!

Welcome to my quarterly eNewsletter! You’re here because our professional / personal / adventure paths have crossed and I’d love to stay connected. Thank you for being here.

In this quarterly newsletter, I share new writings, tips for your communications toolkit, and interesting news from my consulting work. Today's menu includes the 4 for 40 birthday celebration plan, a mix of exciting and sad news from clients, and a look at one of my most popular blogs, just in time for sandal season: How To Prevent Chaco Creep.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate you being part of this community.

Best,
-kC

Why You Need a 4 for 40 Birthday Celebration

Birthdays are the best holidays. Milestone birthdays even more so. So let's talk about the 4 for 40 birthday celebration plan and why you need one.

It's been a minute since I've written an irreverent blog, as I've been focusing on the OEC consulting business. Let me know if you want more of this (for example, how my ski-wife and I skied Mt. Baker despite both of us giving ourselves 0% chance of making the summit) or if you'd like this newsletter to be more business-focused (the many surprising hats I wear as a consultant)? Both? Neither? Something else? Hit reply and let me know!

Seattle Botanic Gardens Introduces New CEO

Seattle Botanic Gardens (SBG) was formally established in January 2026, when the Arboretum Foundation and UW Botanic Gardens came together as a unified nonprofit after 90 years of partnership. Following an intensive national search, SBG recently announced Dr. Christina Owen as the new CEO. I have worked alongside Christina for the last 15-months as the Interim Communications Director at the Foundation, and I am beyond thrilled with her appointment. She is an incredible leader, scientist, and collaborator, and I cannot wait to see where she takes SBG in the years ahead.

Christina’s first hire was a whip-smart Comms Director who starts next week. Sadly, this means my time with the Foundation is winding down, and I’m so grateful for all I learned through this interim role. I’ll stay on as an operational advisor for a few months, and I'm excited to reveal soon what the future has in store.

Climbing Mt. Fuji, Finding Himself

I’m thrilled that Rainier Scholars is keeping me to help with strategy and storytelling. Each month, I get to interview bright, enterprising young people (each interview restores my faith in humanity just a little bit). I’d love to share every story I put together (available on their blog), but for this newsletter I want to highlight Aiymen Hussien: a Seattle University senior studying computer science. He's now pursuing a career in Tokyo after a transformative study abroad in Japan.

Sunsetting Global Washington

Supporting Global Washington last year was an honor. Sadly, after 16 years, GlobalWA made the difficult decision to sunset the organization. And what a loss. This incredible org offered deep value to the global development community bolstering the entire WA state economy, with ripples throughout the globe. I remain moved by the integrity and transparency in which they made this decision. May it be an example to all of us.

Before this announcement, I helped GlobalWA develop their final Annual Impact Report (a common nonprofit fundraising and communication piece). Impact reports can run the gamut of production and design, from simple 1-page letters to multi-media presentations. This GlobalWA report is a smart example of the middle ground: sourcing stories and numbers you already have, laying them out in an existing PowerPoint template, and sharing the final product as a PDF. For more context, you can contrast with the Rainier Scholars Impact Report shared in January, which had a bigger production budget. Both are great pieces that we thoughtfully approached to scale for budget and mission.

How To Prevent Chaco Creep

One of the most popular things I've ever written is about Chaco Creep: you know, that annoying phenomenon whereby the straps on your Chacos migrate despite your repeated (and oftentimes aggressive) efforts to keep them in one place.

Since we’re entering sandal season season, and because these clunky pieces of sturdy footwear are like a badge of honor for any outdoor enthusiast, I figured I’d share this little gem with you. That is, if you promise to send me pictures of your Chaco tan at the end of the summer. (You think I am joking; I assure you, I am not.)