Press & Praise

Praise

"Home run! Our closing keynote speaker Kathleen Koch was incredible... Thanks for your engaging presentation."

David Marshall, Public Relations Society of America Maryland


“Kathleen is the consummate moderator - crisp, informed and able to take the discussion where it needs to go. We call her time and again because our audience is demanding, and we know that Kathleen never disappoints.”

Leah Romero, Chief Executives Organization


"Oftentimes on panels, everyone speaks their point without regard to what others are saying, Kathleen however, helped to create a single narrative out of the four voices present. We all left feeling we had contributed to an important moment and future actions, not just recited our past accomplishments."

Stacy Bare, Director, Sierra Club Outdoors


"Kathleen spoke to the students in a way that was personal and memorable and, more importantly, that provided insight on how to live your values while pursuing your talent. We could not have found a commencement speaker who spoke more keenly to our students or who fit better with what we hope our students will take with them from NDMU."

James F. Conneely, Ph.D., President
Notre Dame of Maryland University


"The audiences were impressed with the valuable lessons on disaster recovery and resilience from Kathleen's Hurricane Katrina experiences. Many of them thanked us for bringing a dynamic speaker who knows first hand what it takes to survive and rebuild from a natural disaster over a long period. Her presentations will serve as inspiration for a long time to come."

Joy Sakurai, Program Development Officer
U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, Japan


"From the day she accepted our request to take on the role, Kathleen went above and beyond what was requested of her in order to prepare for the task of moderating two hour-long panels of five speakers each. On the day of the event, Kathleen displayed such dynamism by the way in which she managed the panels and engaged the audience. Kathleen was a real pleasure to work with, and I am honored to have the opportunity to give my greatest recommendation to such an energetic professional and talented journalist."

Emma Rigby, Executive Director
Canadian American Business Council (CABC)


“Kathleen Koch’s presentation for our inaugural TEDxTowsonU event was engaging and inspiring to the audience. She was able to move the audience to laughter and even to tears as she showed the importance of doing good in one’s local community and community abroad. Her style of speaking caught hold of people’s attention and set the tone for a great environment of encouraging agents of change for a better world.”  

Angie Hong
TEDx Organizer, Towson University
 

“Kathleen emceed an event at the US Capitol for us and did an outstanding job.  She showed a tremendous amount of professionalism through the amount of preparation which was well above ordinary effort.  She worked hard to build a real rapport with the Japanese Ambassador and Japanese community which co-hosted the event and made it successful.”  

Pete Berlowitz
VP, National Conference of State Societies


“Kathleen had done her homework on our organization. Her talk was engaging, she was relaxed, and she reached out to our passions.”

Julie Franklin
Chair, 2012 District Conference for Rotary District 7610


"Kathleen Koch's grasp of the issues and her polished and engaging presence as an expert moderator made it very easy for our panelists to bring forward their important ideas in a dynamic, powerful way."

Peter Van Praagh, President, Halifax International Security Forum


“Kathleen Koch brings her years of broadcast experience onto stage with a speaking style guaranteed to bring tears to all in the audience. As the keynote speaker at our Southern Expressions conference, her personal experiences with the aftermath of Katrina brought back the bittersweet memories of the loss and the heroism of that tragic time.”

Philip Levin
Coordinator, Southern Expressions Authors Conference


"Kathleen added an unequalled dimension to the art of news reporting that left a lasting impression on our visiting Shanghai journalists and PR officials. She stands apart in her personal attachment to the Katrina disaster and how she has been able in video and in print to tell such a compelling story. Kathleen provided invaluable instruction to the working journalists that will be carried back to China.”

Bob Ranson, University of Virginia


For Rising from Katrina:
“A great new book...”

Larry King, Host, CNN's Larry King Live


“It's a compelling story...The folks in Mississippi who have battled back from this storm deserve credit indeed, along with our continued attention.”

Brian Williams, Anchor, NBC Nightly News


"Award-winning broadcast journalist Kathleen Koch presents Rising from Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered, a testimony of the devastation that the notorious 2005 hurricane wreaked upon the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Kathleen's own home, as well as many others and entire communities were literally leveled in the wake of Katrina's destruction. Yet Rising from Katrina is about more than the fury of the storm; it is about the struggle to rebuild, to make sense of disaster and tragedy, and the heartwarming random acts of kindness that human beings are capable of even in the most dire circumstances. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrates this inspirational, compelling and powerful blend of judicious reporting and heartfelt sympathy. "

Midwest Book Review


“Kathleen Koch’s efforts in the national media ensured the Mississippi Gulf Coast was not forgotten. Time and time again, she reiterated the message that Katrina came ashore where we both grew up in Hancock County, Mississippi. We will always be thankful to all the volunteers that gave of their time and resources to help. The random acts of kindness you will hear about in the book can’t help but renew your faith and humble you at the same time. Kathleen captures the challenges, victories, and can-do attitude the people of the Mississippi coast exhibited after this horrible disaster. It is a great read!”

Brett Favre, NFL great and Mississippi Gulf Coast native


“As a longtime Bay St. Louis citizen, one whose house along the Jordan River got washed away by The Beast, I read Kathleen Koch’s extraordinary Rising from Katrina with keen interest. A first-rate reporter, Koch got all the harrowing details exactly right: death-rattle winds, raging storm tide, flying metal debris, and the god-awful feeling of rank abandonment. An all-around excellent memoir of Mississippi—too often forgotten—during the deluge of 2005. Read it and weep.”

Douglas Brinkley, author, The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast


“We lost our North Beach Boulevard home—three stories and ten thousand square feet, now a brick slab—and all our life treasures to the natural forces of Katrina. Kathleen Koch’s book tells the continuing story of Katrina’s effect on the lives of so many. It will be a favorite among those documenting Katrina’s unprecedented destruction. Thank you, Kathleen! It really hit home.”

Clarinetist Pete Fountain and his wife, Bev, who found Katrina no great respecter of jazz legends.