Kathy Kurzman, owner of Nothing But Possibilities, LLC, is an independent educational consultant (IEC) and executive function (EF) coach. Kathy holds an MSc, with Distinction in Education from the University of Southampton, UK; a certificate, with Distinction in College Counseling from UCLA; a certificate in Jewish Education Specializing in Adolescence and Emerging Adults from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion: and a BS, with honors in Elementary Education, from the University of Texas at Austin. She continues to engage in learning opportunities to keep abreast of current research and trends, as well as to earn additional certifications. Kathy is an associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association.

 

My Story

I am passionate about learning and have spent my life engaged in education, personally and professionally. I began my career as an elementary classroom teacher. When I left the classroom to raise my three sons, I kept informed about educational issues and breakthroughs and stayed active within school settings as a volunteer.

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My own sons became involved in extra-curricular pursuits, and I witnessed the positive impact that the strategies and skills that they were exposed to in settings outside of the classroom had on their academic, social, and emotional growth. I wanted to learn more and enrolled in graduate courses in creativity and talent development and shifted my focus to adolescents and emerging adults earning, a certificate in experiential education.

 

I understood how important the "right fit" academic environment, in addition to the right support, is for social-emotional learning growth, developing passions, and honing lifelong learning skills from my time as Director of Admissions, of an Austin area K-8 school, It was also during this time that parents of college students enlisted my help to work with students who were having difficulty keeping up with the academic pace of higher education, alongside now being responsible for aspects of living independently. I coached students in the development of independent living, self-regulated learning, and executive function skills. Working with these students inspired me to apply to graduate school, where I focused my learning and research on self-regulated learning and executive functions. 

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Moving across the world to study was exciting, yet challenging. Being back in the classroom as a full-time student, taking courses, and writing a dissertation, within an unfamiliar educational system had its challenges, and at times, proved to be overwhelming. This impacted my ability to implement the strategies that I use to help with my ADHD. However, the upside is that I draw upon my experiences as a student in my work. I understand the challenges; I faced the stress and anxiety of struggling to easily follow the planned path to reach goals. Just like I coach my students to do, I learned and implemented new strategies to help me engage with the task, while frequently stopping to reflect and adjust my work plan at many points along the way.

 

I discovered my passion for guiding the development of the “how” in my students many years ago and am now able to better coach and develop those skills in the students I work with. I look forward to meeting your family!