About
Why We built the launch practice?
A note from Dr. Keita Franklin, founder of The Launch Practice.
In Keita's words
I’ve spent twenty-five years working in behavioral health and workforce development. I’ve led national programs, advised senior leaders in government and the private sector, and trained thousands of professionals across the country in how to support people through hard transitions. Helping people get unstuck is what I’ve done my whole working life.
I built The Launch Practice because I kept seeing the same thing — in my own family, in friends’ families, and now in the news. Smart, capable young adults stalling out after graduation. Parents close enough to the issue that their help isn’t landing the way they want it to. And a real moment in the labor market where the launch has gotten objectively harder. A little structured coaching, from someone who isn’t the parent, can change all of that.
The Launch Practice is a boutique practice. When you work with us, you work directly with me — not a junior coach, not a contractor, not a chatbot. Operations and client experience are managed by Trevor Franklin, who handles scheduling, intake, and the day-to-day side of the practice.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably either a parent worried about a young adult you love, or a graduate who knows the launch is harder than expected. Either way, you’re exactly the person I built this for.
— Keita
BACKGROUND & CREDENTIALS
A career spent helping people through hard transitions
Dr. Keita Franklin is a senior leader in behavioral health and workforce development. She has spent more than two decades in senior roles across government, nonprofit, and private sector organizations, focused on how individuals and institutions navigate high-stakes transitions.
She has built and led national programs reaching hundreds of thousands of people, advised cabinet-level leaders, and trained countless professionals on resilience, workforce development, and human performance. She is also the author of an upcoming book on connection and human flourishing.
Credentials
- Doctorate in Social Work
- Harvard Executive Leadership Training (Women and Leadership: Leading Through Change and Chaos)
- Harvard Global Public Health Leadership Certificate
- UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Leadership Training Certificate
- Twenty-five years of senior leadership experience in behavioral health and workforce development
- Published in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Alcohol Studies and the Journal of Social Work and Social Welfare
- Invited contributor to Military Social Work and Military Social Work Around the Globe
- Co-editor (with Dr. Adam Walsh), A Field Practitioner's Guide to Suicide Prevention (Springer Nature, forthcoming)
- Author of an upcoming book on connection, belonging, and the power of small acts
- Frequent national and international speaker on resilience, leadership, and human transitions
THE TEAM
Operations & Client Experience
Trevor Franklin
Operations Lead
Trevor manages the day-to-day side of The Launch Practice — scheduling, client intake, communication, and the logistics that keep engagements running smoothly. If you reach out to the practice, there’s a good chance you’ll hear from Trevor first.
THE PHILOSOPHY
How I think about this work
Launching is a skill, and skills can be taught
Most people treat life transitions as personality tests — you either handle them well or you don't. That's wrong. Transitions are skill-based. The launch from college into early adulthood can be taught, and most graduates have never been taught it.
The graduate is the client
Parents pay the bill. Families are partners in the engagement. But the graduate is the client, and coaching only works if the graduate is engaged, respected, and treated like the adult they are. That principle is non-negotiable.
Honest is faster than nice
Coaching only works when the coach is willing to tell you the truth. Sometimes the truth is that the target role is wrong. Sometimes the resume is fine but the strategy is broken. Sometimes the family dynamic is part of what needs to shift. We say so. The alternative is wasting everyone's time.
Movement is the measure
The work matters, but real movement is the measure. If a graduate isn't getting closer to a real next step, the coaching isn't working — and we're going to talk about it directly.
The Launch Practice is a boutique practice
When you work with us, you work directly with me — not a junior coach, not a contractor, not a chatbot.
Day-to-day business operations are run by Trevor Franklin. He manages scheduling, client intake, experience, marketing, and the operational side of the practice