Hi, I’m Kate Brown, founder of EduKateNZ Consultancy Ltd, with over 50 years of diverse experience in education across New Zealand and international settings. I have dedicated my career to strengthening the quality of school leadership and curriculum design.

My career in education has spanned New Zealand schools, international schools, and consultancy. Through my work with the International Baccalaureate curriculum, I came to deeply appreciate the value of teaching for understanding through concepts, guided by inquiry pedagogy. To strengthen my ability to support teachers and school leaders in developing concept-based curricula, I attended Dr. Lynn Erickson’s Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Institute, in Montana, USA. Equipped with this knowledge and experience, I returned to New Zealand ten years ago to establish my consultancy.

My mantra is, “Life is not a dress rehearsal!” Whether you’re a student, teacher, education leader, or business professional, you deserve to be living your best life. My passion is helping you access an education of high expectations, build strong capabilities, and succeed at the highest level.

Through EduKateNZ, I work alongside principals, school leaders, and educators to grow leadership capability, design conceptually rich curriculum, and foster environments where both staff and students thrive. I focus on developing confident, future-focused leaders who are equipped to create inclusive, coherent, and purpose-driven learning cultures.

I’ve long believed that student disengagement is rarely due to a lack of effort from teachers or learners. More often, it reflects curriculum and leadership practices that fail to connect meaningfully with students’ lives, interests, and futures. This insight and a deep commitment to transforming how we lead and teach, led me to write my first book, Teaching for Understanding through Concepts.

In today’s world, knowledge is readily available through AI, and skills can be taught and practised. But understanding is more complex and should be the goal for every learner. It requires deeper thinking and enables learners to connect with their world in meaningful, enduring ways. It is an education for life.

My work with school leaders revealed just how much they benefit from meaningful support, which led me to become a fully accredited coach. Coaching can be transformational. The answers often lie within; we just need the right questions to uncover them. I believe the quality of a person’s life is directly related to the quality of questions they are willing to ask themselves or have asked of them.

Knowing the responsibility that comes with coaching others through life and career decisions, I sought out the best coaching training I could find.  I hold the Elite Influencer Coaching Accreditation from Christian Simpson’s Conscious Coaching Academy, in the UK.  As a result, I now coach both school and business leaders who recognise the power of coaching to build clarity, capability, and confidence.

My approach is practical, strengths-based, and grounded in respect for education at all levels.  I have a deep belief that every learner has the potential to succeed and that by elevating leadership and curriculum, we create the conditions for that success to flourish.