While counting cockles on a beach in New Zealand, Kate realized that the hard sciences were better left to others, and turned her focus towards the social sciences. Still very appreciative of all that nature has to offer, she balances working in development with very long runs in the mountains. Trained in development and health, she has worked in Latin America, India, and Africa in the health, education, and water and sanitation (WASH) sectors in diverse roles from teaching, research, and program management.
For the last eight years she managed the South American portfolio of an American WASH NGO, which included strategy development, operational oversight, donor cultivation, team management, and market-based sanitation project management. Developing and implementing a post-construction monitoring methodology for the WASH sector afforded an invaluable education into the sustainability challenges that remain too common in the sector, and led to a particular interest in sustainability and monitoring processes. Kate speaks English and Spanish and has published numerous pieces in a range of publications, from blogs to peer-reviewed journals.