We’re inspired by a vision of what’s possible and grounded in an understanding of what works.

Our team benefits from the many creative alliances we’ve developed over the years, and we draw on the talents of these wide-ranging collaborators to meet the distinct needs of our clients and projects. Principal collaborators, Helen and Cassy, provide the continuity that seamlessly connects the many aspects of our diverse work.

Helen Lowe
President & Idea Pollinator

Helen has been bringing the power of storytelling to change-making since 2001. Before founding Catalytica, she developed and managed the Visual Communications team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—overseeing video production, photography, design and branding, and leading the integration of communications and program objectives through a multitude of stories from the field.

Prior to her tenure at the Foundation, Helen worked with Seattle-based software company, MetaStories (purchased by Brightcove), collaborating to pioneer the broadband world of new media and developing strategies and stories for clients like DATA, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bridges to Understanding and United Way.

A graduate of the Master’s program at the American Film Institute, Helen amassed a list of credits in Los Angeles as a writer, editor, director and producer of film and television; including an award-winning feature documentary distributed by Disney; as well as a long list of programs for networks like Discovery, NBC, A&E, and Travel Channel.

Adept at engaging people in meaningful dialogue, Helen is a catalyst for cross-disciplinary collaboration and delights in working with people and organizations to connect the dots between apparently disparate efforts, unifying them behind shared goals for change.

Cassy Soden
Sr. Creative Strategist & Story Maven

Cassy excels at translating on-the-ground lessons into stories that catalyze change. Prior to Catalytica, she produced a string of video and multimedia stories at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing together the goals of program and communications teams and inspiring expert and grassroots audiences alike.

An exceptional listener with a passion for extracting meaning from data, Cassy’s degree in Economics from the University of Washington circuitously led her to storytelling when she worked with TV New Zealand and Turning Broadcasting on the 1990 Goodwill Games. Since then, Cassy has gathered a wealth of producer, production manager, and director credits on a wide rage of television projects; including a series and feature documentary for PBS, an independent film screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and a series for TBS.

Cassy is on the steering committee for the Seattle Documentary Assoc. and serves on the board of The Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network, a Seattle-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality and effective use of environmental media, and has co-chaired their annual film festival.