Kathryn R. Burke (Kate). For 30 years, Kate has been heavily involved in the Four Corners Community with an emphasis on SW Colorado. A successful business owner of San Juan Publishing Group, Inc. (SJPG) and a board member of many non-profit organizations, Kate understands  today’s socio-economic business environment. She knows how to employ digital marketing solutions for forward-thinking businesses and fund-seeking non-profits. Her Internet marketing skill set includes social media, website design, web maintenance and hosting, and outstanding online advertising design and placement.

Through life experiences, she has learned how to face and embrace  challenge and adversity and convert both into abundance. And to share that knowledge with others.

“I am an artist, a writer, a publisher, an educator, and an innovative creator. I love teaching people how to discover creative qualities in themselves, then implement them to reach their personal and business goals.”

Although semi-retired, Kate is still involved with various activities that benefit the community. Public Presentations and Event Planning are an important component of her impressive repertoire, and she still actively engaged in both. Click here for list of appearances and presentations. She is also an innovative  educator, having taught in public and private schools in the U.S. and Europe,  at elementary, secondary, and college levels as well as helping  adult students in art, sociology, marketing, and creative living courses. Today, she promotes and conducts art classes and workshops and hosts illustrative journaling sessions. Click here to view the current class list.

#community involvement

#event planning & implementation

#appearances & presentations

#education, classes and workshops

Kate has been involved in creative endeavors all her life, writing and making art from her early school years. She has an impressive record of publishing outstanding print publications (exceeding over a million dollars a year in sales), and a long-standing reputation for highly successful web presentations. Kate writes articles for her own and other publications. Her focus is the humanities: arts, entertainment, history, and profiles of interesting people.

When it comes to business, innate creativity, proven business acumen, and mastery of digital communication make Kate an expert at marketing in today’s online world. She will help you identify your target market and capture it, by promoting you and your business to your best advantage.

#outstanding print publications
#highly successful web presentations
#successful marketing campaigns

When it comes to business success, Kate believes: “Staying on top of your market is hard work. Usually it’s a very positive experience, although sometimes you end up working with difficult or disappointing clients—I’ve certainly had my share of them; everyone has. But, in the end, what I do is extremely rewarding.  When it looks like it won’t be, I’ve learned to just say, ‘No.’ My advice? Never take on a client or a project just for the money. Do it because you like and believe in them. To be able to really help someone, it has to come from the heart. I’ve met and worked with so many fascinating people and helped them achieve some amazing successes.”

“This is my passion. I love what I do. I love working with people, helping them discover their passion, find and own their own successes, and maintain the enthusiasm to carry it forward.”

A successful entrepreneur, Kate has been doing just that throughout her career, working with clients from a wide global customer base, helping them with advertising, public relations, event planning, and fund-raising. In building her own business, Kate has extensive experience with photojournalism, publishing, graphic and web design. Not surprisingly, she is also an accomplished public speaker and successful author. She strives to be a good example of how to succeed.

“If you’re going to show other people how to ‘put themselves out there,’ sometimes, you’ve got to demonstrate how to do it. You can’t always just tell people how to do something, often you have to show them as well. So (even when it  requires some serious self-starting), I get out there and do it. Then (hopefully) they jump on board and join me for the ride. In the end, it’s always a great ride. That’s what marketing is really about—helping people enjoy the ride and feel good about it.”

Kate has also hosted her own radio show, the first time in high school, more  recently, Focus on the Arts for public radio, promoting the visual and performing arts. She has also been a guest on other radio shows. She is an artist and a former gallery owner (in California). She has served on boards and worked with various non-profits in Ouray, Montrose, Delta, La Plata, San Miguel, and San Juan counties, where she has helped plan and promote events, often partnering with other community organizations.

“I’m all about community and creativity!”

Post-graduate work in business administration and marketing enabled Kate to establish and maintain successful ventures in California (where, working with the SBA, she helped start-up companies obtain capital and set up management teams and develop marketing plans). After moving to Colorado, Kate worked with several other publications before establishing he own (SJPG) which, at one time, maintained offices in three locations and concurrently published six magazines with annual sales exceeding a million dollars a year. Kate’s early experiences in education have led her to work with local schools through a special program to help students with learning disabilities gain knowledge and expertise in graphic and web design.

Today, although semi-retired from SJPG, and joining other organizations as a volunteer or employee, Kate continues to work with a few long-term, established SJPG  clients, both domestically and internationally. Her focus is Internet communications and a strong web presence in today’s fast-paced digital world.

“Experience really counts. Succeeding in business…and personal endeavors, really isn’t something you learn in a classroom. You learn it by doing it, by living it. And by who you know! Your contacts and your reputation are, ultimately, what get you down the road.”

“I use all the tools in my considerable tool bucket to help my clients visualize, develop, implement, and maintain successful marketing programs. I work hard to help people set achievable goals and realize their dreams through creative marketing strategies and successful business development.”

Burke is also the author several books, including several on business systems which are printed in multiple languages, and several about caregiving, written while her husband was terminally ill.

Following her husband’s passing, Kate cranked up SJPG large scale publishing again, printing the San Juan Silver Stage (which she began in 1993.) The Stage was already up to 60 pages, printing as many as 10,000 copies per issue. “It didn’t take long to climb back into that saddle again,” she says. Then Covid hit. The Silver Stage had to stop printing, because everyone was closed, some permanently, others vastly changed. Distributing print was difficult. Our last official online issue was November/December 2021, although we still put out a Newsletter and publish occasional articles. We also maintain an archival version of the online Silver Stage, so people can still access the outstanding editorial content.” The website will be retired March 2023.

Although she firmly believes experience and on-the-job training are what builds long-term success, Kate does have a strong educational background. She holds a BA in Art and Social Sciences and has completed graduate work in marketing and economics. “So, yes, I went to college and grad school,”she says. “But the most important thing I learned there was how to listen and learn. Just like today, most coursework is outdated by the time you take the class final. It’s what you learn by observing and doing that counts the most in the long run.”

In her spare time, Kate also enjoys traveling, being in nature, listening to music, organic cooking, and reading. (“Only fiction, I write non-fiction all day long!”) And spending time at home with her cat. She lives in Western Colorado.