Strong communications starts with a solid foundation.
Whether you're starting from scratch or rebuilding what isn't landing, I provide the strategy, messaging and leadership to reach your most important audiences.
Are you …
Launching something new? A new organization, program or initiative needs to show up credibly from day one. Before the website gets built, the collateral gets designed or the announcement goes out, you need to know what you're saying, who you're saying it to and how to say it consistently.
Rebranding or repositioning? Something isn't landing. Your audiences have shifted, your organization has evolved or your current communications no longer reflect who you are. Before you rebuild anything, you need to know what's actually not working and why.
Heading into a high-stakes moment? An announcement, a campaign launch, a funder presentation, a leadership transition, a media moment. Whether the audience is internal or external, you need the right words — and strategy — to reach the people who need to hear them most.
Assigning communications to whoever has time? Your organization has outgrown DIY communications, but you're not ready for a full-time communications director. Communications is a specialized function and deserves the right person in that seat (You wouldn't hire a plumber to fix your A/C.). A fractional communications director means your team stays focused on what they do best and communications is in expert hands.
Lay the groundwork first. Always.
Strategy requires slowing down to speed up. It doesn’t immediately feel like the movement of building the website, designing the perfect logo or posting on social media. And it isn’t sexy.
But when your tactics aren’t tied to a strategy, it shows. Your messaging feels disjointed. Your audience can't figure out who you are or what you do. And fixing it later is a costly lesson — in both time and money.
Measure twice, cut once. The strategy work comes first so everything that follows is built on something solid.
About Kate
I'm Kate Lino — a strategic communications consultant with more than 20 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations build the communications infrastructure they need to reach their most important audiences.
I've built the MarComm function for a startup nursing college from the ground up in four months. I've developed messaging and audience toolkits for a nearly $6 million NIH-funded research initiative with high funder visibility. And I spent nearly a decade at the American Heart Association's national headquarters, where I led communications for campaigns supported by more than $26 million in corporate investment.
I specialize in the work that comes before execution: the positioning, audience clarity, voice and messaging architecture that makes everything that follows more effective.
I work with growing nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations navigating periods of growth, transition or visibility.
Your communications foundation starts here
Every engagement is different, but they all begin in the same place: figuring out what you need to say, who you're saying it to and how to say it consistently.
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Positioning, voice, audience mapping and the messaging foundation that makes everything else work. We start with a focused review of your existing messaging and communications — so we know exactly what to fix before rebuilding anything.
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More than a plan — a clear roadmap for how your paid, earned, owned and grassroots communications efforts work together to reach your goals. No more isolated tactics or spaghetti thrown on the wall.
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Embedded senior communications leadership scoped to what you actually need. Your team stays in their lane, vendors have direction, and communications is handled without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Extend your team
Every project is led by me, with access to a small network of highly experienced specialists I've vetted through direct, past collaboration — so you get a coordinated team without managing multiple vendors.
Messaging Audit + Digital Health Check
A clear-eyed look at how your message is landing and whether your digital presence is set up to support it. I review your current messaging and positioning while a highly experienced digital marketing specialist evaluates your site's SEO, technical health and search visibility. One integrated set of findings — what's working, what's not and where the gaps are.
Brand & Voice Package
For organizations and new ventures ready to align how they sound with how they look. I lead the messaging and voice work — positioning, tone, key messages. That’s paired with a complete visual identity from a designer with deep experience and a proven track record. She develops the logo, core graphics and a brand guide to keep everything consistent going forward. You get one cohesive identity, delivered as one package.
Selected Projects
A startup nursing college needed to launch as a credible institution. Built the entire MarComm function from scratch in four months — messaging, website, collateral and vendor oversight — in time for their fall semester application launch.
UNT Health College of Nursing
A nearly $6 million multi-year, multi-stakeholder research initiative with high funder visibility needed cohesive communications across multiple audiences. Developed messaging, established branding and built audience toolkits.
NIH-funded research study
Developed messaging and a communications framework for a new strategic plan launch, translating organizational priorities for three distinct audiences — staff, members and sponsors — in time for the annual meeting rollout.
National Recreation & Park Association
In their words
Kate is the person I call when a project needs to get off the ground fast or get back on track — and she always delivers. She's overhauled our website, repositioned my leadership platform and even helped us land a presentation at SXSW EDU. When it matters most, she's the one I can count on to get it done. From the moment I hand a project over to her, my stress level goes down.
— Audrey Rowland, CEO Green Space LearningWhen we launched the Texas Coalition of Forensic Nurses, we needed to show up credibly from day one — and Kate made that possible. She built our website from the ground up and made sure I understood how to manage it. As a volunteer-led organization with a small budget, we didn't want to be dependent on someone else to keep it running. Kate really listened to our needs, delivered exactly what we envisioned and made sure we were empowered to move forward on our own.
— Jenny Black, Founding President, Texas Coalition of Forensic NursesI worked with Kate about getting my brand messaging just right. I was struggling to relate and communicate what I helped clients do best. She helped pull the most beautiful stories from me to create my selling differentiators as well as the unique areas in which I'm awesome/different from other coaches. She's marvelous and SO clear in her approach - uber helpful for me in upping my game!
— Christi Nix Bloomer, PCCKate has a rare ability to take complex, data-heavy content and shape it to communications that actually resonate with audiences. We brought her in as a consultant to develop the framework for a series of impact materials for program funders across our global regions and issues. She managed input from internal SMEs while collaborating seamlessly with our external designer. She understood the problem, knew who she was writing for and delivered work that was immediately ready to use.
— Kelly G., Former client with national nonprofit organizationYour Questions, Answered
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A fractional communications director is senior-level communications leadership, embedded in your organization on a part-time or as-needed basis — without the cost of a full-time executive hire. Instead of one person trying to handle messaging, media relations, vendor management and crisis response on top of their existing role, you get a dedicated communications lead who owns the function.
Scope varies by organization, but it typically includes setting communications strategy and priorities, directing messaging and positioning, managing PR and media relations, overseeing vendors and contractors (designers, agencies, freelancers), and stepping in when communications needs — planned or unplanned — arise.
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An agency typically focuses on the execution of a defined scope of work. A fractional director sits closer to leadership, helping set direction and priorities, then either executing directly or directing others (internal team or outside specialists) to execute. It's leadership, not just output.
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Organizations that need consistent, senior communications oversight but aren't ready for — or don't need — a full-time hire. Often this means growing nonprofits, founder-led businesses or organizations going through a transition where communications needs to be handled well, but isn't anyone's full-time job.
This works best for fully funded businesses, ideally in year three or beyond, and nonprofits with $1 million to $10 million in annual revenue. If you're earlier than that, you may need a different kind of support first — and I'll tell you if that's the case.
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I price fractional engagements as a project fee for a defined term, typically three months or more, rather than an hourly or monthly retainer. We scope the deliverables and time frame together upfront, agree on a fee for that term, and revisit scope and pricing if the engagement continues beyond it.
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Fractional engagements aren't tracked by the hour. Instead, we define the scope and deliverables for the term — typically three months or more — so you know what's covered and what to expect, without worrying about hours logged.
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That's often the goal, and I build toward it. I can serve as a bridge while you grow into that hire, document processes so the transition is smooth, and even support onboarding your new communications director once you're ready to bring someone on.
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Yes. Part of the role is directing the people already in motion — your internal team, existing vendors and any specialists already in the mix — so everyone's working from the same strategy instead of in isolated lanes. If a project calls for expertise outside what's already in place, I bring in a small network of specialists I've vetted through direct, past collaboration, so you get a coordinated team without managing multiple vendors yourself.Item description
Ready to get started?
Whether you're launching something new or fixing what isn't working, let's figure out where to begin.
