About the Character Coach-Kay Augustine
Kay A. Augustine can be contacted directly at charactercoach@gmail.com. She is available to individualize a presentation, workshop, in-service, training or material design especially to meet your needs.
Kay is a nationally recognized trainer and presenter on character development, positive youth development, generational diversity, active learning, service-learning, and organizational culture/climate. For close to ten years, Kay has been a National Faculty member of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition. She is the former Associate Director of CHARACTER COUNTS! Iowa and a former national faculty member for the Institute for Excellence and Ethics. Kay holds a Bachelor of Music Education, a Master of Science in Education, a Specialist in Educational Leadership and is a Doctoral student at Drake University.
Kay’s special gifts include a creativity in looking at programmatic functions and processes and designing new ways of looking at growing a comprehensive character development intiative for schools or communities–especially involving youth in the process. Kay has a unique background involving youth in leadership with character efforts including a focus on leadership skills, empowerment, service-learning and active learning techniques. She has worked with the Iowa Youth Training Core for Character as well as with training students as trainers at Idaho State University, Merced, CA Park and Recreation and Albertville, MN to name a few.
Working with the Character Education Partnership, Kay initiated the Iowa Schools of Character Awards, has participated on the Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Missouri Schools of Character and in 2009 was honored to be a site visitor for finalists for the National Schools of Character Awards.
Having provided character development training throughout the country, Kay enjoys assisting schools and communities in initiating character education but also assisting existing sites in taking it deeper–to help make character development efforts systemic rather than surface events and activities. Kay brings an expertise in weaving character development into a comprehensive school improvement planning process. She also has experience in helping schools design advisory programs that model and encourage the Six Pillars of Character.
An unusual benefit to Kay’s background includes her training and experience with the issues of generational diversity. With four generations currently mingling in the workplace, many tensions and controversies that may in the past have been branded as issues of a “lack of character” are now able to be addressed through a broader base of understanding of generational differences. The ability to reflect through the generational lens decreases tensions and increases understanding and effectiveness.
Kay is currently helping convene the Minnesota CharACTer Initiative-a collaborative effort to provide training, consulting and networking for character development initiatives in Minnesota.
