Kate
Doerksen
CEO, Cofounder at Sage Haven
"How to Keep Kids Safe Online"
"How to Keep Kids Safe Online"
Tue May 12 - 6:20 PM EDT/New York (See in local time)
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05/12/2026 6:20 PM
05/12/2026 06:40 PM
America/New_York
#WTGC2026
"How to Keep Kids Safe Online"
#WTGC2026
"How to Keep Kids Safe Online"
https://www.womentech.net/ringcentral
https://www.womentech.net/ringcentral
"How to Keep Kids Safe Online"
"How to Keep Kids Safe Online"
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Session: How to Keep Kids Safe Online
Start with personal story of teen family member's nightmare experience with cyberbullying and harmful online content and why I'm so passionate about fixing the relationship our kids have with tech and each other. Talk through our learnings from 500+ interviews with parents, kids and experts. Highlight a few areas of huge concern today and what's being done about them. Talk through the business opportunities emerging now that parents are so heightened. Talk about the key things we'd love to see legislators take on now including AI guardrails.Key Takeaways
- The problems of digital addiction, cyberbullying, and access to inappropriate content start in elementary school even before kid's get smartphones or join social media.
- Cyberbullying impacts 25 million U.S. children annually.
- There are lots of new business opportunities now that parents are fed up with the status quo and wanting to have safer online options and a childhood with less screens.
- There are 3 key changes we need legislators to do today: 1) mandate age and parent verification 2) demand interoperability and 3) enforce accountability.
Bio
Kate Doerksen (pronounced “Dirk-sin”) is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for building technology businesses that are change agents for industries and make the world a better place. She has a track record of founding and scaling successful companies across various consumer and enterprise sectors.While earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurship from Ball State University, Kate launched her first venture, Hoopla, an online marketplace for college basketball recruiting that matched coaches and high school student athletes. She leveraged her experience as a Division 1 women’s basketball standout at Ball State where she won a host of awards including MAC Player of the Year, NCAA Academic All-American of the Year, NCAA Indiana Woman of the Year, and All-American Honorable Mention. She moved on from Hoopla to pursue a brief stint in the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun. She was inducted into the Ball State Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2026.
After retiring from basketball, Kate expanded her business acumen starting her business career in finance. She moved to New York City where she became an investment banking analyst at Citi in their Mergers & Acquisitions group. After a two year rotation, she moved to Chicago and became a private equity investor at Wind Point Partners where she worked closely with CEOs of portfolio companies to improve their operations. This experience cemented Kate’s desire to become an operator again so she went back to business school at Stanford where she got her MBA in 2011.
During her first and second years at Stanford, Kate cofounded another venture, Ditto, which she ran for over 10 years before it was acquired by 1-800-Contacts in 2021. Under Kate’s leadership, Ditto grew to become a global leader in augmented reality virtual try-on and AI recommendation technology in the vision industry which was licensed to leading optical retailers all over the world. Their technology allowed eyewear to be more easily sold online, enabling a drastic reduction in the price of eyeglasses for Ditto’s 70M annual users. Their cutting-edge technology amassed 35 patents and Kate expertly navigated several huge challenges including complex litigation and international expansion.
In 2023, Kate felt called back into entrepreneurship once again to start Sage Haven whose mission is to create a world where kids have a healthier relationship to technology and each other. She cofounded Sage Haven with her sister, Anne Pizzuti. They were inspired by a family who went through a mental health crisis contributed to by bullying and harmful social media content and the desire to ensure their own kids have a different experience online. In October 2024, they published a free guidebook to educate parents on technology best practices. In November 2024, they launched a weekly parenting podcast called Sage Sisters. In Q2 2025, they are launching their first technology solution, a safer messaging app for kids with AI-power safety tools for parents.. They hope to eventually layer in content and create a non-toxic alternative to social media.
Throughout her career, Kate has been recognized for her strategic vision and leadership and is a sought-after Board Member and Advisor. She currently serves on the the Ball State Foundation Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of LUUM, a robotics/AI technology company in the beauty space, the Board of Directors of Donaldson Capital Management, an investment advisory with over $3B in assets, the Board of Directors of Indiana University Kelly School of Business Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and as an Advisor to Eyebot, an AI-enabled kiosk that does accurate vision tests in less than 90-seconds.
Kate lives in Danville, CA with her husband, Chris, and their two kids, Grace (8) and Calvin (6). She’s a member of the PTA at her kid’s public elementary school, coaches both of her kids in basketball, and enjoys playing competitive tennis.
