PROFESSIONAL BIO
Dr. Kate Russo is the Founder of Being in the Shadow, and now based in her native North Queensland after two decades of living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is an author, psychologist, and eclipse chaser who has seen 14 total solar eclipses from six continents over 25 years.
Kate’s unusual combination of skills and expertise allows her to carve out a unique niche that includes eclipses, community development, and tourism development. She uses her academic and clinical skills to delve deep into the experience of totality, using these insights to help put words to the ineffable. She has surveyed and interviewed hundreds of people about their eclipse experience, and has authored three books. She shares the awe, excitement, and wonder of the total solar eclipse worldwide, and is in demand in the media and as a speaker due to her unique expertise, passion, and relatable manner.
Kate is a global authority on community eclipse planning, having been directly involved with eclipse planning efforts in many remote locations worldwide. Her passion is to ensure communities within the path of totality strategically align their eclipse preparations with community development plans, ensuring long-term sustainability. Kate’s White Paper on Community Eclipse Planning is regularly updated, and provides evidence-based guidance to communities starting to prepare for a total solar eclipse. She holds numerous leadership roles in her niche area. She advises on local, state, and national eclipse planning groups, and consults with Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development bodies to support eclipse planning efforts. She was the only Australian involved in national planning efforts in the US for the eclipses of 2o17, 2023, and 2024. Prior to ceasing activities in 2025, she was actively promoting early planning and encouraging a national approach for the multiple Australian and New Zealand eclipses in 2028, 2030, 2037, and 2038.
Kate loves helping everyone experience totality. She successfully partnered with a UK-based tour company that led sustainable eclipse tours for several years before the pandemic forced operations to cease. Since then, she has supported multiple tour groups in their planning efforts, developing tour activities and facilitating logistics to ensure a seamless experience.
Her message is clear. You MUST get into the path of totality at least once to experience the incredible awe and wonder of being in the shadow.
