LA BELLE VIE ACADEMY Course Suites, Community, & Coaching!

La Belle Vie Academy offers Course Suites, Community, & Coaching for signature programs!

Available now:
1) La Belle Vie WRITERS+  (Membership access: $99/month)
2) High Achievers Course Suite+ (Membership Access: $50/month)

​Coming soon:
3) Happily Unmarried + Erotic Empowerment (Coming Soon!)

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LA BELLE VIE ACADEMY
Kathryn Sophia Belle, Ph.D.
Founder and Owner

NOTE: In 2017 changed my name to KATHRYN SOPHIA BELLE to honor my maternal grandmother (Kathryn Bell).  I added the extra "e" (from Bell to Belle) for self-differentiation and for the meaning (beautiful, good).  Often our names are patrilineal. We frequently (not always) carry names of fathers, then husbands. It is POWERFUL to me that my maternal grandmother named herself and it is an honor to connect to that power and legacy by choosing my version of a matrilineal name.  

Citations: When citing scholarship published under my former name "Kathryn T. Gines" please add a footnote/endnote that I am now "Kathryn Sophia Belle."  For example: Kathryn Sophia Belle [formerly Kathryn T. Gines], Hannah Arendt and the Negro Question (Indiana University Press, 2014).  THANKS!

PODCAST APPEARANCE (Philosophy Casting Call: Philosophy, Counter-Narratives and Writing Books)
PODCAST APPEARANCE (Journeys of Belonging 2 Blackness: Philosophy, La Belle Vie Coaching)
​MAGAZINE APPEARANCE (Happily UnMarried!)

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My Latest Book!

Beauvoir and Belle: A Black Feminist Critique of The Second Sex examines feminist frameworks, discourses, and vocabularies of Black women and other Women of Color that existed prior to and have continued after The Second Sex.  Black women and other Women of Color connections to and engagements with this text are intentionally centered.  

Beauvoir and Belle: A Black Feminist Critique of The Second Sex (Oxford University Press, 2024) is now available for pre-order!

Philosophical, Purposeful, and Practical Approaches to La Belle Vie ("The Good Life")!

I am Dr. Kathryn Sophia Belle, founder and owner of La Belle Vie Academy with signature programs at the intersections of #HighAchievers (especially but not exclusively professors and professionals), #HappilyUnmarried (going from unhappily married to Happily Unmarried, but also including general uncoupling and disinterest/divestment from the institution of marriage), and #EroticEmpowerment (the erotic as power and pleasure, from sensual and sexual pleasure to connecting you creativity and purpose).  I offer small group coaching, workshops, and retreats.

I am a true philosopher ("lover of wisdom").   I majored in philosophy as an undergraduate at Spelman College (1995-1999) before earning an M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from The University of Memphis (1999-2003).  I worked in the Academy for 20 years - including a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Memphis (2003-2004), a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University (2004-2005), a tenure-track position at Vanderbilt University (2005-2008), and a postdoctoral fellowship and tenure track position at The Pennsylvania State University (2008-2023) where I was a tenured associate professor of philosophy with affiliations in African American Studies as well as Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.  I also have extensive administrative experience (e.g., as Director of the Africana Research Center and as interim department head of African American Studies.  I decided to leave the Academy effective June 30, 2023 and I am excited about this next phase of my life! 

As a "High Achiever" (Ph.D in Philosophy, entrepreneur, coach, writer, speaker) and "Happily Unmarried" (aka Delightfully Divorced) mother of four children, I understand the myriad demands of work and home as well as the desire for an integrated and balanced life.  To be honest, in this phase of my life I really want a life of ease, pleasure, and leisure!  Part of my purpose is to choose myself, live my best/authentic life, and supporting others on similar journeys.  I am committed to being an active listener, co-inquirer, gentle agitator, and accountability partner in your self-realization and self-actualization journey.  I describe my method as “embodied existentialism” because I take seriously the mind-body connection, physical and metaphysical inquiry, the power of self-awareness, as well as the insights gained when we take time to contemplate life’s bigger and deeper questions.  I have worked with faculty across ranks from a variety of colleges and universities including – Harvard University, Northwestern University, Rutgers University, St. John’s University, Smith College, The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, and The University of Pittsburgh – to name a few.  I have also worked with other high achieving professionals (coaches, entrepreneurs, physicians, etc.).

La Belle Vie is French for "The Good Life" (common translation) or "The Beautiful Life" (literal translation).  I have changed my name (and the name of my business) to reflect this.  I have in mind not only living "the good life" and/or living "your best life" - as determined and defined by you, but also noticing and appreciating the physical and metaphysical beauty within and around us. 

My coaching, workshops, and retreats are all designed to help you embrace and create YOUR GOOD LIFE!

If you are interested in coaching, workshops, and/or retreats for yourself and/or your organization, I can be reached via email at [email protected].
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Media/Podcasts

Guest appearance on Yndia Lorick-Wilmot' Journeys of Belonging 2 Blackness podcast.

Preview of some themes from the episode:
*Living your truth, authenticity, having a full, multifaceted life
*Power of naming (matrilineal names, patrilineal names, professional implications of changing your name)
*Power of intention (being intentional about your energy, what you want to do and what you do not want to do)
*Powerful interventions of coaching
*Self-Awareness, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Love (Who am I, beyond labels like "mother", "wife", "professor"?)
*Happily Unmarried in 7 Stages (Doubt, Denial, Disaster, Deeper Work, Details, Divorce, Delight)
*Overcoming isolation, alienation, and shame
*Creating and connecting to support systems and empowerment spaces
*Failures as opportunities to learn, grow, and do something different
NB: I am an experienced professional coach with a doctorate in philosophy. I am not a licensed counselor/therapist, medical doctor, mediator, or attorney.  In addition to coaching and programming with me, I encourage you to consider how simultaneous services from counselors/therapists, medical doctors, mediators, attorneys, etc. may also be beneficial members of your support team.