One Year In: Kate's Superpower is Connection

Kate Christopherson's First Anniversary | Team Letter | August 4, 2026

August 4, 2026

Happy Tuesday, Alpaca!

Did you know that our teammate Kate Christopherson has a photographic memory for names? It’s true.

When we were at a conference together recently, we were at the booth and someone came over to see what Alpaca was all about. They mentioned their district name and the fact that they’ve downloaded some of our resources and without glancing at a nametag or skipping a beat, Kate said “Oh yes! I believe we talked to your secretary a few weeks back — you’re Cheryl, right?” Obviously impressed and thrilled to have been seen and remembered, the two of them made an instant connection.

I watched Kate do this a dozen times that conference, and when I asked her about it, she said “I’ve always been able to do that! It’s just how my brain works. It’s like I have a database in there.” I told her it’s like she has a relationship super power in there!

Today, we’re celebrating Kate Christopherson’s FIRST year at Alpaca — and what a year it’s been!

Like Claire, Kate joined the company as one of our first two outbound sales reps, before we had much for training or process or proof that it could work. Kate had to use that superpower of hers to connect to people, remember their names, and build relationships, all over the phone. When she goes to conferences, she thrives in building true face to face connections with our customers, and when she’s at the office, she lights up our space with joy and positivity and humor.

We talk a lot at Alpaca about how organizational culture evolves, whether that’s a school culture or our own culture as a company. We believe in being “culturemakers” — where each of us comes into the organization with experiences, perspectives, and traditions, and each of us shares those with the team, so that they layer into the organization and evolve the culture. That means that the culture that Alpaca had when it was just Kimberly, Marina, and me isn’t the same as it is today with 20 employees, and that’s how it should be. Each new team member evolves our culture just a little bit, and it will continue to grow and evolve over time.

Kate is truly a Culturemaker at Alpaca. Kate is the reason we had a March Madness bracket for the team this year. She’s the energy behind potluck lunches (she’ll bring the potatoes, of course!). She’s the Nebraska cheer squad before and after every Husker football weekend. And she’s the bright and positive presence that Alpaca embodies, everywhere she goes.

What I’m excited about is that Kate is just getting started. Recently, Kate started building and closing her own new customer deals, connecting even more with school principals and leaders bringing Alpaca to their schools for the very first time. Seeing those relationships grow and flourish this year will be so much fun - I can’t wait to see her at conferences in a year, meeting in person the many school leaders she has supported in their first year with Alpaca this year.

Kate, thanks for bringing the puns, the potatoes, the hard work, the energy, and your unique skill of creating instant connections and lasting relationships to our team and to our customers. Happy anniversary - we are SO grateful to you for all that you do, and so excited for all that’s ahead!

Love,

KB

PS: Sorry Kate, you know I wasn’t going to let this post get published without this gem: