Since graduating with her MSSA in 2018 as a Mandel Leadership Fellow, Katherine has provided psychotherapy, therapeutic behavioral services and consultation to individuals, families, groups and service providers as a clinical social worker. She brings over ten years of experience in healthcare research and service evaluation, culminating in a national advisor role for the Care Quality Commission, England’s regulator of health and social care services. Katherine has a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College as a John Marshall Scholar and is a member of Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honor Society.
Q: Why is your work at the Begun Center important to you, to our community, and to the world?
The Begun Center is a flagship of multi-disciplinary anti-violence experts, embedded in an internationally renowned school of social work. The intersection here is key: the MSASS community are change agents, and it's a good thing we are. The world's definition of violence is expanding from a focus on the physical to the broader damage trauma causes to ourselves, our neighbors and our communities. As a social worker, it's my duty to advocate for our most vulnerable, and my work at the Begun Center allows me to reach even more people to promote trauma-informed evidence-based practices in schools.
Q: What is a cause about which you are particularly passionate?
I feel strongly about reviving historical research within the social work discipline, as a means of fueling social policy. My clinical specialty is early intervention, and I love learning about system-wide approaches to the development of a resilient, embodied mind. I believe there is more we can do, as individuals and as a society, to protect our well-being from oppression and to promote healthy recovery from trauma.