Kate majored in civil/environmental engineering at Cornell and focused her studies on the design of remedial programs. In college, she designed her own independent studies for a semester in Botswana, getting her first taste of field work, assessing the impacts of various conservation efforts.

After graduation, Kate started out doing a different type of field work as an engineer, directing soil removal, the installation of wells and borings, and designing and building remedial treatment systems and programs. Through this experience, Kate became acutely aware of the importance of working with environmental regulators to meet a project’s end goals.

Inspired to make a larger impact, Kate became an environmental lawyer so that she could collaboratively work with parties performing cleanups/redevelopment projects and regulatory agencies to further efficient and effective cleanup strategies.