Katie’s origin story begins at a young age on several road trips across the country with her family and grandparents where she found interest in learning about people, culture, and history.

Read more below, in Katie’s words

Growing up, my parents highly valued travel as an important way to learn about the world and different ways of life.  I remember many road trips with my family and grandparents to state and national parks and historic sites across the country (often packed like sardines into a minivan with suitcases stacked to the ceiling in the trunk and on the roof), as well as international trips to the Caribbean and Europe.  I loved visiting new places, people watching, and learning about the history of each place we stopped.  All of this fueled my interest in learning about people, culture, and history.   

I’ve also always had a fascination with old things and piecing together the stories behind them.  Museums and their collections were places I could start to unravel these mysteries and better understand the world around me.  My interests in travel, culture, and people drew me to study anthropology, archaeology, and history in college and graduate school.  In school, I discovered my love for writing and research but I was unsure how to connect the dots between that passion and history and culture. 

After finishing my masters, I eventually moved back to the DC area (where I grew up) and began searching for any possible position working in a museum (at this point I had no idea there were ways to work with museums without working in a museum).  Jobs were scarce, and I ended up taking a position in market research for higher education for a few years, working with colleges and universities across the country using research to help answer their most pressing questions.  While I liked the variety of the work, with many different clients and questions, I knew museums were where I really wanted to be.  When I saw the posting for a Research Associate with RK&A (now Kera Collective), I didn’t really know what museum evaluation was or that the field even existed!  I was excited as I learned more and realized that it was the perfect marriage of my interests in research and writing, learning about people and culture, and getting to work with museums.  It ended up being a great fit!