Co-Founder, Maverick Collective and Senior Vice President, PSI

It was almost routine in Kate Roberts house growing up in Southport near Liverpool for Kate’s Mom to say, “Well we’re off on another adventure with Dad!” Kate’s father Peter was a sea captain on cruise liners and cargo ships and often took his family along.  Whether it was those experiences growing up or part of Kate’s DNA, she had a sense of supreme confidence that got her through two harrowing experiences with the Russian Mafia. Today she is working to have a positive impact in the health and well being of women and girls worldwide, and looks to disrupt the way philanthropy has been done in order to see sustainable change.

To hear Women to Watch™ Media’s interview with Kate  and learn more about her story, listen below.

Full Biography

Kate Roberts is the co-founder of Maverick Collective, a ground-breaking philanthropic initiative to end extreme poverty by investing in the health and rights of girls and women in the developing world. Co-chaired by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway and Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Maverick Collective is redefining what it means to be a philanthropist by disrupting the traditional model.

In addition to her role as co-founder, Kate is Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and Philanthropy at Population Services International (PSI), one of the world’s leading global health non-profit kroberts@maverickcollective.org organizations with programs across 65 countries and a 43-year history dedicated to improving people’s health.

Throughout her career, Kate has enlisted the support of celebrity ambassadors and built lasting partnerships with a broad range of corporations, governments, and foundations, with the goal of making it easier for people in the developing world to lead healthier lives and plan the families they desire. She is the founder of several highly successful public health initiatives, including YouthAIDS and Five & Alive, to increase public awareness around HIV and prevent the spread of the disease among young people. In 2005, she spearheaded a joint venture between YouthAIDS and ALDO, a global fashion footwear and accessories retailer, to develop a powerful celebrity-driven HIV education campaign, which raised more than $5 million and reached 1.5 billion people in 25 countries. Kate has also produced four award-winning documentaries on the global HIV/AIDS crisis that aired on MTV, VH1, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic.

Before PSI, Kate co-founded and served as managing director of the promotion agency “141” in Eastern Europe, part of the Bates, Saatchi & Saatchi advertising network. At Independent Media in Moscow, she launched Russian Cosmopolitan Magazine and developed public relations strategies for The Moscow Times.

In 2007, Kate was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, where she serves on the Global Health Advisory Board and is the founding curator of WEF Global Shapers. She was also featured as a CNN Hero and received the Jack Valenti AIDS outstanding achievement award. In 2009, Vogue named her as one of its100 women. She is an adjunct professor on social entrepreneurship at The George Washington University and an invited speaker at Aspen Ideas Festival, Davos, Wharton Business School, Columbia University, and Harvard Business School.

Kate speaks five languages, has a lifestyle business of real estate development and interior design, and is an accomplished contemporary artist.

For more information regarding Kate, check out the links below!