# Kate BonDurant, PMP®

> Helping design students & grads move from school into the workplace | Fashion & creative careers | Founder, The Intern Mentor | Author, The Design Internship Handbook

Location: Oakland, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/katebondurantpmp

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

You polish your resume, build out your portfolio, and start applying… but not much happens. Applying without really understanding what the job requires, how hiring decisions get made, or how that translates to your resume, portfolio, and interview is the biggest gap between “next” and “hired.”

I spent years on the other side of that process as a hiring manager, reviewing hundreds of portfolios and building teams. What I kept seeing wasn't a talent problem. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. People weren't struggling because they lacked ability — 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲.

So I started teaching that instead.

𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆‐𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 + 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, that means helping you understand what's expected before you walk in the door, so you're not just trying to get hired, you're ready to do the job.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀 (from fashion and design departments to business schools), I bring real‑world workplace context into the curriculum, so students graduate with a clearer sense of what they’re walking into and why these skills matter.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, I help design onboarding and internship programs that set people up to contribute, not just show up.

No matter which side of the gap you're coming from, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. You can book a call with me: https://www.theinternmentor.com/coaching-appointments

## Work Experience
### Founder - Mentor @ The Intern Mentor LLC
Jan 2024 – Jan 2025 | Oakland, California, United States
Changing how we think about career readiness.

Looking at the gap between school and workplace success from a 360 lens. 
1) Providing young professionals with tailored and personalized mentorship to confidently navigate the classroom-internship-career leap. 

2) Partnering with schools on instructional techniques, curriculum, and talks/workshops that shift how students engage with their own learning.

3) Consulting with companies to improve internship programming for clarity, equity, and impact.

~Author of The Design Internship Handbook
~Speaker
~Publish a weekly Substack on early-career guidance

### Design Director @ Americhine LLC
Jan 2024 – Jan 2024 | Oakland, California, United States
Assortment planning
Design and wash proposal - Women's Denim
Trend and concept direction

### Adjunct Professor @ Academy of Art University
Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 | San Francisco Bay Area
Professional Practices and Portfolio

~Developed and piloted the Design Sprint Challenge - providing design students a more realistic experience of working in design while strengthening necessary skills and building their portfolios.

### Design Lead - Womens Denim @ Old Navy
Jan 2021 – Jan 2023 | San Francisco Bay Area
Womens Denim: Bottoms, Jackets, Skirts

### Board Member, VP Marketing @ PMI-Sacramento Valley Chapter
Jan 2021 – Jan 2022
As part of the Marketing Division, I work towards inspiring and building community through engagement and chapter exposure through marketing.

~Launched Instagram account
~Developed new branding for the website, newsletters, documents, and social media
~Revitalized LinkedIn presence
~Led a team of up to 3
~Set onboarding practices for the department that influenced onboarding, training, and offboarding practices for the chapter

### Design Lead @ White House Black Market
Jan 2017 – Jan 2020 | Fort Myers, Florida Area
Sportswear Bottoms, Skirts, Jackets

### Associate Designer @ White House Black Market
Jan 2014 – Jan 2017 | Fort Myers, Florida, United States
Non-denim Bottoms, Tops

### Design Intern Program Manager | Design Onboarding Specialist @ Chico's FAS, Inc.
Jan 2016 – Jan 2020 | Fort Myers, Florida Area

### Assistant Designer @ Lands' End
Jan 2010 – Jan 2014 | Dodgeville, Wisconsin, United States
Categories: Dresses, Skirts, Jackets, Bottoms, Denim, Tops, Swim, Coverups

### Freelance Assistant Designer - Women's Knits @ Old Navy
Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Fashion Design Intern - Women's Intimates, Active, Knits @ Old Navy
Jan 2008 – Jan 2009 | San Francisco Bay Area

### Fashion Design Intern @ Amy Kuschel San Francisco
Jan 2008 – Jan 2008 | San Francisco Bay Area


## Education
### Associate of Arts in Fashion Design
FIDM

### Certificate in Project Management
San Francisco State University

### AA in Costume Construction Technology
Indiana University Bloomington

### BA in Fashion Design
Indiana University Bloomington

### Rising Star Program in Fashion Design
Savannah College of Art and Design


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/katherinebondurant
- Portfolio: https://www.theinternmentor.com/
- Portfolio: https://www.katherinebondurant.com/
- Portfolio: https://theinternmentor.substack.com/

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Source: https://flows.cv/katebondurantpmp
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/katebondurantpmp/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-13