Kate Strathdee

“I have an art therapy degree, and I’m excelling in a tech company,” says Intel’s Kate Strathdee, who helped create the corporation’s award-winning mental wellness program in 2020. She is also a leader in company and industry-wide initiatives promoting disability awareness and inclusion, and was part of the Intel team that educated policymakers and analysts about 5G technology three years before it was launched globally. “I use my degree every day to think about my audience and to create visual aids and graphics for communications,” she says. 

Her interest in helping people achieve mental and physical health inspired her to study Expressive Arts in Mental Health at Russell Sage College. Learn more about her work and her experience at RSC in the following Q&A.

Please tell us about your responsibilities at Intel.

I currently work on executive and internal communications in the Client Computing Group — that’s the large, global engineering team most people would recognize as Intel’s personal computers team. My role is a hybrid of communications, business operations, and program management. My projects span internal communications, executive presentations and communications, website design, graphic design, video design, and more. 

My career at Intel started on the 5G team in 2017. I assisted a vice president and her staff with team culture initiatives and 5G technology advocacy. My ability to translate engineering concepts into lay terms became my superpower. 

I was close to two years in that role when I decided to transition to HR communications. I worked on programs like annual enrollment, retirement and 401K, paid leave, COVID response, and wellness. During COVID, we kicked off a corporate-wide mental wellness program and won awards for its communications program — this program is a career highlight for me. 

Now I’ve started to focus on accessibility and disability initiatives in relation to my own chronic illness-related disability. 

Please say more about your work on disability accessibility and inclusion initiatives.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2018. It took months for a diagnosis and over a year to be prescribed a treatment that worked. I’m currently in remission, but I still have symptoms like brain fog, joint pain, frequent injuries, immune problems, and random flares.

I became involved in Intel’s Disability and Accessibility Network Employee Resource Group because our Employee Inclusion Survey showed that many people with non-apparent disabilities felt they needed role models. Hey! That was a role I could fill! 

Four of us from across Intel started a Chronic Illness Peer Group and our conversations are some of the most validating and emotional conversations I’ve had at work. We support each other and build each other’s confidence. We share resources and best practices. We’re building community. For people with isolating illnesses, that’s invaluable.

I just completed an Early Career Talent Accelerator Program through Disability:IN as one of 25 people selected to participate out of 500 partner companies! 

What attracted you to Russell Sage for college?

I was so anxious and shy as a teenager and couldn’t fathom attending a large university. I remember my first visit to Russell Sage. I walked up to the admissions building on the Troy campus and they had a blackboard with “Welcome Kate!” 

I loved the warmth and the history of Sage. The beautiful touches in the dorms and central meeting spaces. Everyone seemed friendly, and I felt that I could grow at my own pace. 

In my second year, I became class president and stayed in that role until senior year when I became coordinator of events for Rally [Rally is an annual spring event and RSC tradition that includes class competitions and fundraising for charities.] It taught me leadership and program management skills even though I didn’t realize it at the time.

What else did you learn at Russell Sage that prepared you for your career?

My art therapy degree gave me the foundational people skills I need to succeed in business, and it gives me a frame of reference through which I view the world. 

I often think about Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences — we all have our strengths and intelligences. 

I have an art therapy degree, and I’m excelling in a tech company. I use my degree every day to think about my audience in communications and to create visual aids and graphics for communications. 

Are you preparing for other personal or professional milestones? 

My goal this year is to acquire my Project Management Professionals certification. It’s quite difficult and I just scheduled my test date. Wish me luck!

Is there anything you would like to add?

Russell Sage was such a foundational place for me. It gave me the opportunity to grow in a safe and small setting that was right for me. Not everyone with social anxiety is comfortable in an auditorium-style classroom. The leadership skills I learned at Sage didn’t stop in the classroom. I use them at work and when I volunteer my time as a leader in my community.