Meet Kara Festa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Festa.

Kara, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a civil engineer by training, and had a 20+ year career in engineering consulting. Up until last year I was one of the owners of an engineering and environmental consulting firm. For several years before I left the firm, I had been considering whether that career path was where I wanted to stay for the second half of my career, or if I wanted to make a shift and move into something different.

My path started moving in a different direction about five years ago, when I took a year long coach training program. I originally decided to take the program to become a better leader, and to focus more on the “people side” of my brain, as I had always been a pretty task oriented, logical engineer. That program, which provided me a certification in Integral Coaching, totally changed how I saw the world and myself. I actually tell the story of my transformation in a blog on my web site (https://karadiane.com/how-belly-dancing-ended-my-engineering-career/), as well as in a slightly expanded mini-book that I make available. After several years of soul-searching, I decided that it was time to leave and start pursuing this new dream, which revolves around supporting other women in business and STEM careers.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all! First of all, I struggled for quite some time when I became one of the owners of the engineering company. I moved into a leadership position without really any training about what it meant to be a leader. So, I had to learn what it meant to be in a leadership position on the job, and the challenge of that and the imposter syndrome that came up for me was a surprise. The timing of my transition into leadership was such that I had two toddlers at home, and was trying to balance the demands of being an engineer, business owner, wife, and mother among other roles. I had all the outside indicators of “success”, and yet I didn’t feel happy in my life and I couldn’t figure out why. It was the quest to figure out how I could feel more fulfilled in life that truly led to my new path.

Even so, after years of consideration and seeking a different path, the decision to leave my company what incredibly hard to make, and I hung on there for several more years than were probably healthy for me and the people around me. When I finally made the decision to leave the company, I knew that I would be fine no matter what happened with the new business and I was just ready for the change. But that readiness was a long time coming.

Kara Diane Coaching & Consulting – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
One of my passions is supporting diversity in business, STEM and on company boards, and that passion was the driving force for my starting the company. My own personal heart mission in the world is to support women and underrepresented people in business to build generational wealth and end cycles of poverty in their families and communities. I’m really proud that who I am and what I value in the world shows up in the business I started.

On the most practical level, I provide coaching and consulting around business growth and leadership for women entrepreneurs, small business owners, leaders, and those in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) career fields. There are a number of ways that shows up, including one to one coaching and consulting on business practices, financials, and project execution, and group coaching/peer advisory programs for entrepreneurs/small business owners, and for women in engineering, I also do some speaking around topics relevant to women in business and STEM, such as mindful leadership, work-life integration (aka “balance”), and self-care.

One of the things that sets my work apart from a lot of other business coaches and consultants is the integral approach that I take. I don’t just work with my clients “in and on” their businesses and careers, we work to deepen their understanding of themselves as a human being, and to take care of the human so that they can then take care of the business. I call my approach “Business Meets Heart and Soul”.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have a favorite memory of going with my dad to the track near our house on the Army base where we lived when I was probably five or six years old. My dad was an avid runner throughout my childhood, and I decided to give running a try that day. I ran and ran and ran on that track that day, I think I might have run a mile that day, I’m not sure. My dad declared I was clearly a runner too, and decided to buy me my first pair of running shoes. I ran off and on throughout my life, and although I’ve set running aside now in favor of other ways of moving my body, running always has held a special place in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://karadiane.com/
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/kara_diane_festa/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/karadianefesta/
• Other: www.linkedin.com/in/kara-diane-festa-business-coach/

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