Kate Bartolo has over 30 years’ experience in obtaining government approvals. Prior to founding her own company, Kate was a land use counsel/partner for The Kor Group, responsible for all land use approvals in the Kor portfolio (totaling 1,500 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail and six boutique hotels). These included the historic Eastern Columbia and Barker Block Lofts.
Kate founded the Walt Disney Company’s California Government Relations practice, responsible for all three Disney lines of business. She served on the land use executive team responsible for securing entitlement approvals and the $500 million public-private partnership for the then $1.5 billion Disneyland expansion. Prior to that, Kate served as a development executive/partner for Hopkins Development, a development executive with Simon Property Group, and a commercial retail broker with CBRE, specializing in downtown Los Angeles.
Concurrent with her work in land use/development, Kate has long pursued her other passion: politics and public policy. On an avocational basis, she has served as a longtime policy and campaign advisor to numerous local and state elected officials and candidates, including now U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.
She was a Vice Chair on the City of West Hollywood’s Planning Commission, Chair of the City of LA’s Historic Incentives Committee, and on the Planning Department’s Cultural Heritage Advisory Task Force. Kate is the former President of the Historic Core Business Improvement District and one of the founding board members of the Arts District Business Improvement District. She served her community for 15 years as the Chair/Co-Chair of her residential neighborhood association.
Kate got her start in government serving as a Council Aide and Press Secretary to two LA City Councilmembers. During that time, she gained passage for major citywide multi-family housing legislation.
Kate champions every project as if it was her own development project, plays to win and doesn’t quit until she does.