Originally from southern California, Katherine is a graduate of Boston College where she majored in Political Science and minored in Faith, Peace, and Justice Studies. She participated in a variety of BC’s volunteer programs, including an immersion trip to the US-Mexico Border. She interned with immigrants’ rights organizations such as the Migrant Legal Action Project in Washington, D.C. and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition in Boston, Massachusetts. Katherine spent a semester in Washington, D.C. where she completed a research project about immigrants and food stamp eligibility. She expanded on this research in her senior thesis on immigrants and welfare.
Field placement: Hunger Task Force
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Katherine served as a Field Assessor of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which is offered at hundreds of sites in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She performed the first-ever assessment of local CACFP utilization, dialoguing with participants and administrators and using the research to identify strengths and weaknesses of the program’s administration.
Policy placement: National Conference of State Legislatures
Washington, D.C.
Katherine worked with NCSL’s Human Services Committee researching state implementation issues in the Child Nutrition and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Reauthorization process. She also worked with NCSL’s Immigrant Policy Project researching immigrant access to federal nutrition programs, particularly Food Stamps.