Stanford staff emerita Kate Chesley – whose many contributions to the university included leadership speechwriting, editing Stanford Report, and supporting undergraduates as a resident fellow at Roble Hall – passed away Friday, Oct. 25, at her home in Palo Alto, following a long illness. She was 66.
Chesley was a skilled writer, editor, and media relations professional who joined Stanford in the 1990s to support the Office of University Communications. In the years that followed, she became deeply immersed in Stanford life.
Kate Chesley, Nov. 9, 1957 – Oct. 25, 2024 | Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News
“Kate had a tremendous love for the university. She loved Stanford,” said Donna Lovell, former assistant vice president for news in University Communications. “In addition to the place she worked, Stanford was her home.”
Chesley took her role as a steward of the university seriously. “When she really felt that something was in the university’s best interest, she fought for it and she was willing to stick her neck out for what she felt was the right thing to do,” Lovell said.
Chesley served as John Etchemendy’s speechwriter during his entire tenure as university provost. He said he appreciated her professionalism, efficiency, and the authenticity she brought to their collaborations.
“Kate was very, very good at making a message sound like a person – sound like me,” recalled Etchemendy, the Denning Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and the Patrick Suppes Family Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences.
“She got to the point where she could predict better than I could how long a speech would take because she knew how fast I would speak, and she’d write a speech that was exactly the right length,” he said. “And she worked quickly. She was a much faster writer than I could have been.”
Joining Stanford
Chesley was born and raised in Vermont. She received her BA in journalism from the University of Rhode Island and an MS in professional communication from Clark University in Massachusetts. She was a newspaper reporter before shifting to a career in higher education communications and media relations at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Chicago, and later at her alma mater, Clark University.
Chesley arrived at Stanford in 1998. Her contributions over the years included supporting leadership communications; serving as university governance writer, editor of the Parent and Guardian Newsletter, and academic adviser for more than two dozen students; and in 2002, leading the video production unit – what is now Stanford Video. For a period, Chesley also reviewed movie scripts by filmmakers who wanted to include Stanford branding. After reading The Hangover Part II, she sought the guidance of then-Provost Etchemendy, who gave the OK.
In 2016, Chesley became managing editor of Stanford Report, providing timely, vital information to faculty and staff. “Kate was the obvious person for that job because she’d had a long history at the university,” Lovell recalled. “And it was important to have someone in that role who had a lot of contacts on campus and their finger on the pulse.”
Friend and mentor
Chesley made many friends across the university and was a mentor to many others. She served as adviser to the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band, with whom she traveled to the Rose Bowl. From 2006 to 2010, she and her partner, Maureen Breen, served as resident fellows at Roble Hall, where they raised their son, Miles.
“The first thing you noticed about Kate was her joy,” wrote Alan Ransil, ’10, and Chelsea Kuhnle, ’10, in an email, both of whom were resident assistants at Roble. “That joy was obvious to everyone who met her – a spark in her eye, a quippy turn of phrase, her baseball cap and readiness to defend the Red Sox. With Kate, life felt like a game and one heck of a good time.”
What stuck out to them most was Chesley’s wisdom and empathy. “She was quick to see when any resident needed care,” they added. “It was a gift to know her.”
In the Office of University Communications, Chesley shared her time and expertise by guiding the work and careers of younger writers and editors, helping them acclimate to the campus community, encouraging their professional growth and creativity, and lending a helping hand and compassionate ear during difficult times.
Lifelong learner
In 2012, Chesley demonstrated her commitment to lifelong intellectual rigor and curiosity when she enrolled in Stanford’s Master of Liberal Arts program.
Kate Chesley rises to receive her MLA degree during the 127th Stanford Commencement ceremony at Stanford Stadium. | Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News
“She distinguished herself by her wide-ranging curiosity and by invariably asking the hard question, but with such light-handed humor!” recalled Linda Paulson, director of the program.
Chesley’s master’s thesis, titled “Stanford and the Defeat of the Ladera Dam: Politics and Persistence from 1955 to 1973,” traced Stanford’s objection to construction of the proposed Ladera Dam due, in part, to ecological concerns.
“Working with Professor Buzz Thompson, Kate wrote a deeply researched, extensively considered, and rather startling piece – the result of her fascination with history, her expertise in research, and her skeptical intelligence,” Paulson said.
On June 17, 2018, Chesley donned a cap and gown for Stanford’s 127th Commencement ceremony, where she received her Stanford degree.
Remembering a colleague
Those who worked with Chesley also remember her love of singing, including in her office. “She had a beautiful voice and would break out in song when she felt like it. That was a part of her personality. She had a great sense of fun and wasn’t afraid to go for it,” Lovell recalled.
Chesley retired from Stanford on July 1, 2021.
She died at home in Palo Alto following a years-long battle with metastatic breast cancer. “The university has lost a really wonderful, wonderful staff member and we will miss her,” said Etchemendy.
Chesley is survived by her wife and life partner of 37 years, Maureen Breen of Palo Alto; two children, Josephine Breen of Redwood City and Miles Breen of Palo Alto; three grandchildren, Aliah Breen of Palo Alto and Gabriel and Mason Streffery of Brentwood; brother Andrew Chesley of Stockton; sister-in-law Leslie Potter of Stockton; niece Victoria Catanio of Sacramento; and nephew Ian Chesley of Stockton.
Family and friends will hold a celebration of life in Chesley’s memory on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 670 E. Meadow Dr., Palo Alto, followed by a reception.
Memorial gifts can be made to Bay Area Cancer Connections (BACC) and the National Center for Equine-Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT).
