Katie holds a Master in Business Administration with a focus in Healthcare and a Master of Science in Health Sciences in End-of-Life Care. She has worked professionally as a Certified Child Life Specialist in healthcare since 2002 and moved into her current healthcare leadership role in 2020. In her healthcare work, she has developed sustainable team approaches to providing compassionate and effective care for children and families during high stress medical emergency situations.

As the co-founder and first Executive Director of CLDR, Katie established the organization’s foundation, infrastructure, and strategic direction before scaling and expanding to additional leaders. She credits CLDR’s continued growth and impact to the many dedicated professionals of varied backgrounds who have joined in advancing the mission. Katie continues to serve as a key leader for the organization and is proud to be part of a passionate and dedicated team focused on mitigating trauma for children impacted by natural and man-made disasters.