Join La Belle Vie Academy 

Course Suites & Community!

La Belle Vie Academy Signature Course Suites are now available through

My Membership community! (Click link above or "My Membership" above.)


I am excited to offer LBVA Signature Course Suites & Community!

La Belle Vie Academy provides Philosophical, Purposeful, and Practical Approaches to La Belle Vie (the good life/the beautiful life) including signature programs and courses for High Achievers (offering success strategies to overcome common challenges faced by scholars, professors, and other professionals), Happily Unmarried (offering guilt-free guidance through several powerful stages from Unhappily Married to Happily Unmarried and Delightfully Divorced), Erotic Empowerment (offering paradigm shifts away shame and toward Erotic Power and Ecstatic Pleasure that is deeply connected to Sensuality, Sexuality, Creativity, and Purpose), and Exit Strategies (offering guidelines and encouragement for navigating FEARS, FINANCES, and FREEDOM to prepare for your strategic exits).

La Belle Vie Academy's signature programs, course suites, and community provide Black feminist frameworks designed to support our self-realization and self-actualization journeys of transformation in these key areas of our work and lives. I describe my method as "Embodied Existentialism" because I take seriously mind/body connections, physical and metaphysical inquiry, the power of self-awareness, as well as the insights gained when we contemplate life's bigger and deeper questions. My method also includes what I call "Embodied Emotional Epistemologies" or the profound knowledge that we have access to when we are consciously connected to our bodies and our feelings.

Hello, I’m Dr. Kathryn Sophia Belle!

I am founder and owner of La Belle Vie Academy. I am a High Achieving, Happily Unmarried, Erotically Empowered mother of four who is also and amazing Exit Strategist! Consequently, I live, write, teach, coach, and speak with experience and expertise at the intersections of High Achievers, Happily Unmarried, Erotic Empowerment, and Exit Strategies.

I am a true philosopher (lover of wisdom). After majoring in philosophy (Spelman College, 1995-1999) and then earning a MA and PhD in philosophy (University of Memphis, 1999-2003), I worked in Academia for 20 years (2003-2023), including postdoctoral fellowships (University of Memphis and Emory University) and tenure track positions (Vanderbilt University and then Penn State University where was promoted to associate professor with tenure and held several major leadership and administrative roles). My scholarly specializations include African American/Africana Philosophy, Black Feminist Philosophy, Existentialism, and Social/Political Philosophy. I am excited to bring my extensive experience and expertise, as well as my power, passion, and purpose to La Belle Vie Academy, including the self-paced courses I created over many years through my coaching and workshops, that are now made available on this platform. And I am very exited about building an amazing interactive community!

La Belle Vie Academy has signature programs for High Achievers, Happily Unmarried, Erotic Empowerment, and Exit Strategies - offering course suites and community with philosophical, purposeful, and practical approaches to help you create and embrace YOUR GOOD LIFE/BEAUTIFUL LIFE at these intersections and beyond!

Testimonials...



  • When I began working with you, I saw a huge shift in my relationship to writing (and my career). You helped me, from a feminist POC viewpoint, think about how I should respond to demands being placed on me. 
  • I have been able to think more productively about assessing my own personal needs and prioritizing those needs.
  • I gained confidence along the way! I finished my PhD later in life (40s). I did not obtain a tenure track position until I was 49 years old-- a few weeks before my 50th birthday. I had a lot of baggage because of this and wondered if I could do this. This helped me find my confidence and realized my potential. My age does not have to hold me back or mean that I have less value here in this space. I still have lots to contribute. 
  • You have a unique ability to bring people with common needs and goals together and to create new relationships and communities. You have a unique ability to gently persuade others to better integrate mind with bodies. So many academics live in their heads and neglect their bodies. You show by example the importance of the embodied self. You have a unique ability to make tired, discouraged and overlooked Black women feel important, included, welcomed and appreciated. 
  • You are an intent listener, which means you allow people to feel heard and understood. Also you are an innovator. If you have an idea for something you create it yourself. You’re not afraid to develop something that you see is needed (most people just complain).