Classes & Workshops
Portia & Cleo offers classes and workshops for business owners who want to build a stronger personal brand and uplevel their marketing. Each session is led by founder Katie Miller, a brand strategist with a decade of experience helping entrepreneurs turn their story into a marketing strategy that connects, builds trust, and drives growth.
We believe continuing education is one of the most effective ways for business owners to grow — not only by learning new skills, but by growing boldly into parts of their brand they haven't yet imagined. It's also a way to build community. Business owners who learn alongside one another gain the kind of connection, feedback, and momentum that working alone can't provide.
The Founder's Story Workshop Series
Monthly Marketing Workshop Series Rooted In Your Brand Story
Waitlist access is required to join this workshop series. Seats are limited, and enrollment opens on a first come, first served basis the moment class details drop on September 10th.
Every founder has a story. It’s your bold marketing fingerprint — the one signature that belongs to only you, the thing that sets you apart from your competition.
The question is: are you using it in all the best ways you can?
You’ve done the work to uncover your Founder Story — the moment, the mission, the throughline that makes your business yours. But a story that lives only in your head, or in a single About page paragraph, isn’t doing its job.
The Founder’s Story Series is a three-part live workshop built to change that: to take the story you already have and teach you how to activate it, session by session, environment by environment — on social, on your website, and in the room.
Each 90-minute session opens with a recap of your Founder Story foundation, moves into a focused teaching on that session’s environment, gives you a hands-on exercise to apply it to your own brand, and closes with live Q&A.
There are only 12 seats per class — intentionally built to foster connection and create an intimate space for female founders to work and have their questions answered. Seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Founder's Rising Academy
A Six-Week Boutique Cohort for Women Founders Ready to Move From Building a Successful Business to Becoming a Recognized Authority
THE FOUNDER'S RISING ACADEMY
You have built your business. Now you are ready to step out and lead as strong as you built. Over six weeks, you'll strengthen the leader behind your business, uncover the story only you can tell, and step into the kind of presence that opens doors for speaking, leadership, partnerships, board service, and growth.
This isn't another marketing course or business mastermind. It's an intimate leadership experience designed to help you become the founder your business deserves.
WHO IT'S FOR
The Founder's Rising Academy is for women founders who know they're capable of more and are ready to become known for their expertise, speak with greater confidence and authority, serve on boards and advisory councils, and create opportunities instead of waiting for them.
THE SIX-WEEK JOURNEY
Week 1 — October 9, 2026 — Leading From Within (Jen Dean)
Clarity about who you are as a leader and how that shapes every decision you make.
Week 2 — October 16, 2026 — Building From the Right Place (Jen Dean)
A practical decision-making framework and greater confidence in how you lead.
Week 3 — October 23, 2026 — Your Founder Story (Katie Miller)
A founder story that reflects both your purpose and your expertise.
Week 4 — October 30, 2026 — Building Authority Through Story (Katie Miller)
Clear messaging that positions you as a trusted authority.
Week 5 — November 6, 2026 — The Authority Project (Jen & Katie)
A completed 90-day action plan and one clearly defined Authority Project.
Week 6 — November 13, 2026 — Founder's Forum (Group Roundtable)
Clarity, accountability, meaningful relationships, and momentum to keep building.
PROGRAM DETAILS
• Six-week live cohort via Zoom, beginning Friday, October 9, 2026
• Weekly 90-minute sessions, Fridays at 10:00 AM PST
• Interactive digital workbook and session recordings
• Private community
• Limited to eight founders
INVESTMENT: $800 + TAX
Kept intentionally small so every founder receives meaningful coaching, personalized feedback, and space to be known, not just another seat in a large online program.
Meet the Founder's Rising Facilitators
Jen Dean
A & E Collective
Jen Dean is the founder of A&E Collective and CEO of the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce. She works with founders who have built successful businesses and now find themselves facing more complex decisions, greater visibility, and a different level of leadership. Through strategic advisory and leadership development, she helps them think more clearly, lead with greater confidence, and become the kind of leaders their next season requires.
Her work helps founders build authority from the inside out so their visibility reflects who they are becoming, not just what they have built.
Beyond her work with A&E Collective, Jen is an active civic leader across the Eastside. She is a graduate of Leadership Eastside, continues to serve on Leadership Eastside committees, and serves on the board of the Kirkland Community Foundation. Her work regularly brings together business, nonprofit, and civic leaders to build trusted relationships and strengthen their communities.
Katie Miller
Portia & Cleo Studio
Katie Miller is the founder and lead designer & strategist of Portia & Cleo, a boutique marketing studio for female-led businesses and community-based businesses.
Through narrative strategy, refined design, and story-driven marketing, she helps her clients clarify who they are, sharpen their positioning, and build brands that command attention and drive growth.
In addition her work with Portia & Cleo, Katie is an active voice in marketing and brand strategy across the Pacific Northwest. She is a trained theater artist from the University of Washington and has served in marketing leadership roles with the Kirkland Downtown Association, Woodinville Wine Country, the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce, and the Cites of Kenmore and Issaquah.
She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Evergreen Health Foundation and as a board member for the Northshore Schools Foundation and is a recognized Entreprenista Trusted E-Expert.
