Kate Lewis (nee Westerbeck) has willed every stage of her career into existence.

In her childhood, she knew she wanted to work in media. Her very first job after Amherst College landed her at Conde Nast. She then joined Hearts and rose all the way to Chief Content Officer, overseeing some of the most iconic titles in American publishing. When she later set her sights on Apple, she made that happen too, bringing her editorial acumen into one of the most influential technology companies on the planet.

Kate exudes the power of optimism, curiosity, and good old fashioned cheerfulness. She makes a compelling case for something every Amherst alum will feel in their bones: that a liberal arts education is awfully useful in a world where the ability to synthesize, communicate clearly and compellingly, and connect the dots across disciplines is as valuable as ever.

Her recent shift from media to tech and from the East to the West Coast is instructive for anyone contemplating their own pivot. Her playbook also affirms why the skills we honed at Amherst still matter in some of the most competitive environments in the world.

To reach Kate, email is best: kcwlewis@gmail.com.

Show note: Kate mentions a Radiolab podcast episode on the power of novelty. Listen to that episode here: https://radiolab.org/podcast/secret-long-life

Podcast also available on PocketCasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and RSS.

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The Podcast

Join Matt Collins as he interviews his Amherst College classmates. Every episode reveals what each guest has been up to since we last collided on campus, college memories that are loaded with 1990s nostalgia, the impact our liberal arts educations have had on our lives, and how we’re thinking about the future.

About the podcast