Kate Washington

Kate Washington is Managing Partner of Enterprise Solutions International (ESI), a consulting firm that shines a laser focus on small and mid - cap business growth, combining imaginative “Main Street” development strategies with solid financial and operational skills The company’s model meets businesses where they are, recruits the diversity of skills and resources required, and delivers increased profitability. She counts the multiple, successful business turnarounds, in the midst of recession - providing solvency and futures for employees and families - as her strongest and most fulfilling achievements. Kate’s experience includes working with the highest levels of government leadership in countries in the Caribbean and South America to reduce the cost of energy and to build sustainable energy resources that increase the quality of life in these emerging markets. ESI’s work has delivered results in North America, South America, Asia and Africa.

As Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development for the City of Rochester NY, Kate led Housing, Real Estate, Business Development and Project Development and activities that developed downtown Rochester and spanned all neighborhoods in the City of Rochester. Kate’s continuing commitment to the transformation and regeneration of the City of Rochester was the driving force behind her work. She launched and project managed the introduction and licensing of medical marijuana in Rochester NY.

Kate’s unique and non-linear career path is grounded in the education she received through world travel as a child in a military family. Eventually landing in Rochester, NY, Kate attended school, studied violin and went on to become a professional studio musician and music teacher in classical, jazz, and popular music. She launched a professional chamber ensemble, Quodlibet, and performed live jazz with Richie Cole, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Hamilton and Nancy Wilson, among others. She has numerous off-Broadway credits as Music Director for musical theatre and was awarded a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship to Wales in 1982. Returning to Rochester NY in 1989, Kate began to apply the analytical, creative and disciplined skills she developed as an artist, learning to bridge the gaps between the art and science of business and to integrate them well into her consulting practices. As founder and President of Thalia Productions, she delivered corporate training to Fortune 500 companies using improvisational interactive theatre. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Simon School of Business and teaches Practicum in Urban Entrepreneurship and Doing Business in South Africa, an experiential immersion course.

Kate’s civic engagement includes leadership in women and racial equity issues; the arts; and business development. She is a founding member of the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, the first Rape Crisis Center and Domestic Violence program in the Caribbean. As President of the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault, she helped craft the Sexual Assault Reform Act signed into law by Governor Pataki in 2001 and secured the required funding for the seventy-six Rape Crisis Centers throughout New York State. In 1999 she was awarded the YMCA Minority Achiever Award. Kate has served as Co-Director of the Geva Theatre Enterprise Zone in the NextStage and as an artist and board member of Gateways Music Festival. She was Vice President of the Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley, and currently serves on the board of The Children’s Institute, 19th Ward Community Association, SWADCO and the Simon School Alumni Council. She sits on the advisory boards of BioDrill Technical Solutions, Rochester Jamaican Organization and Merrill Rusling. Kate earned her Bachelor of Music from Syracuse University, studied jazz arranging at Berklee College of Music and earned her MBA from Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.

Managing Partner, Enterprise Solutions International