Today we’d like to introduce you to Kourtney Mason.
Hi Kourtney, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My name is Kourtney S. Mason, MBA and my story is really about learning to believe in myself before anyone else did and then using that journey to help others do the same.
I grew up in an environment that wasn’t nurturing. I was a high performer, but instead of being celebrated, my accomplishments became expected. Praise was replaced with pressure, and over time I found myself looking outside of myself for validation, letting other people’s words, opinions, and expectations define who I was. When you don’t own your own story, you start living the version someone else created for you.
That pattern followed me into my professional life. I’ve spent my career navigating spaces where I was often the only person who looked like me in the room. I was told my natural hair could be seen as unprofessional. I was told that leading with empathy meant I couldn’t drive results. The message, time and again, was that who I was as I was wasn’t quite enough. But every time doubt crept in, I made a choice to rewrite my narrative.
I earned a B.S. in Sport Management from The University of Texas at Austin, followed by an MBA from Texas Women’s University. I’ve built a career at Travelers Insurance Company, where I serve as a Regional Director for the Claim Account Executives organization. I also serve as a Strategic Advisor at Woman Evolve, a movement founded by Sarah Jakes Roberts that is committed to equipping women through spiritual and practical development with the tools necessary to evolve into the highest version of themselves. In that role, I work closely with the CEO and executive leadership to create a culture where employees feel seen, valued, and heard.
At my core, I am a servant leader. I have always believed that true leadership is servitude and I lead from a place of service, not authority. My faith informs how I show up for people, and it has shaped my commitment to advocating for those who have been overlooked, underrepresented, or without a voice. People who deserve to be empowered, to feel seen, and to walk confidently in their purpose. My toolbelt includes empathy, authenticity, resilience, and open-mindedness, and I bring all of it to every space I enter.
Along the way, a name came to me in a dream: KOURporate®. I sat on it, prayed over it, and eventually took the step to trademark it because I realized it wasn’t just a name, it was my purpose. KOURporate® represents my belief that professional development isn’t just about climbing the corporate ladder. It’s equally about personal growth, expanding your skills, broadening your perspective, and becoming a more whole version of yourself.
Today, I live by a framework I call R.I.S.E. — Relationships, Intentionality, Stewardship, and Empowerment. My mission is simple: to inspire and create environments where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to show up as their authentic selves and to thrive there.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road. My challenges started long before my career did.
I grew up in an environment that wasn’t nurturing, and as a high performer, I carried the weight of expectations without the benefit of encouragement. My accomplishments were expected, not celebrated. Over time that environment taught me to shrink, to seek validation from outside of myself, and to let other people’s opinions define my worth. When you spend your formative years without affirmation, you carry that void with you into every room you walk into.
In my career, those insecurities showed up in real and tangible ways. I’ve navigated spaces where I was consistently the only person who looked like me. I’ve been told that my natural hair texture and color were unprofessional and could hold me back from being considered for elevated leadership roles. I’ve had my leadership style questioned, not because I wasn’t effective, but because I led with empathy and people wondered whether that meant I couldn’t drive results. The unspoken message in many of those moments was that who I was, as I was, didn’t fully belong.
There were also moments of deep self-doubt. Early in my leadership journey I found myself leading teams where I wasn’t always the most technically experienced person in the room. That can be incredibly intimidating. Imposter syndrome is real, and I had to make a conscious decision over and over again to trust myself anyway.
But every obstacle taught me something. The moments that were meant to make me shrink are the exact moments that forced me to grow. I had to learn that confidence isn’t the absence of doubt. It’s showing up anyway, ready to do the work.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I wear a few hats, and each one is an expression of the same core mission: creating environments where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to thrive.
By day, I serve as a Regional Director for the Claim Account Executives organization at Travelers Insurance Company. In that role I lead with a hands-on approach, focused on ensuring optimal operations and outcomes for my team. I specialize in building strong relationships, developing people, and driving results without sacrificing the human element. I have always believed that you can be both an empathetic leader and a results-driven one, and I work every day to prove that.
I also serve as a Strategic Advisor at Woman Evolve, a movement founded by Sarah Jakes Roberts that is committed to equipping women through spiritual and practical development. In that capacity I work closely with the CEO and executive leadership to align organizational goals with the holistic development of staff. I amplify internal voices, advise on content strategy, support programming, and help shape meaningful, mission-driven experiences. I lead from a place of service, not authority, and I am committed to being a steady force for impact and transformation.
At the center of everything I do is KOURporate®. It is not just a brand, it is me. The way I show up in the boardroom, the way I advise, the way I lead and develop others — that is KOURporate® in action. It represents my belief that professional development and personal growth are not separate journeys. They are one. And everywhere I go, I bring that philosophy with me. I am, at the end of the day, a KOURporate® Girl.
What I am most proud of is not a title or an achievement. It is the people. It is the team member who found their voice. The colleague who stopped shrinking. The woman who finally believed she belonged in the room. That is the work I am most proud of, and it is what keeps me going.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
The resources I turn to most are the ones that challenge me to grow both professionally and personally, because for me those two things are always connected.
First and foremost, the Bible keeps me grounded in my faith. It is the foundation from which everything else flows. When I need clarity, direction, or just a reminder of who I am and whose I am, I always come back to it.
The Memo by Minda Harts is one I recommend to every woman of color navigating corporate America. Harts offers a career guide that addresses the unique barriers women of color face, from microaggressions to the wage gap, with both wit and candor. Reading it felt like someone finally put language to experiences I had been navigating alone for years.
Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud and Emotional Intelligence 2.0 are books I return to often as a leader. Cloud’s work challenged me to look at how my character, not just my competence, shapes the outcomes I produce. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 gave me practical tools to understand myself and others more deeply, which is foundational to the way I lead.
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins was a game changer for me personally. The book challenges us to stop wasting energy trying to control other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, and instead focus on what we can actually control: ourselves and our own responses. As someone who has had to unlearn people-pleasing tendencies, this one hit home.
And right now I am really enjoying The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant. It is a weekly podcast grounded in an unflinching commitment to learning and unlearning, making the case for slowing down, asking better questions, and embracing informed complexity over easy answers. In a world that rewards certainty, I appreciate two brilliant minds who are willing to sit in the tension of not always having the answer.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kourtneyshari?utm_source=qr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kourtney-s-mason-mba/
