Katie joins Georgia Tech as a researcher and educator dedicated to strengthening democratic participation and advancing community health and well-being, with a focus on building capacity that puts power and decision-making directly in the hands of communities.
Katie holds a PhD and Master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, along with undergraduate degrees in Anthropology, Spanish, and Environmental Economics, and a certificate in Environmental Ethics. This interdisciplinary academic foundation has shaped a career centered on developing tools that translate complex topics into accessible information, enabling informed civic engagement and collective action.
Katie brings extensive experience in community-engaged research and digital innovation. Her work includes developing a comprehensive grant readiness platform with Atlanta-based community organizations to increase equitable access to resources, creating a 14-week youth advocacy curriculum empowering next-generation leaders to engage in civic processes, and designing participatory community asset mapping tools that amplify community voices and preserve cultural heritage. She has also built digital data platforms that democratize information access and pioneered online educational experiences that break down barriers to civic knowledge. Katie is also committed to building inclusive governance structures. Her work includes designing strategic plans that integrate immigrants into local governance, developing community resilience frameworks centering youth and intergenerational leadership, and analyzing historical counter-narratives to inform equitable development in gentrifying neighborhoods.
As an educator, Katie has taught courses at Georgia Tech, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the University of Minnesota in City Planning, The City and Its Technology, Cinema and the City, Sustainable Urban Development, AI for City and Regional Planning, and Sustainability for Public Health Practitioners. Her scholarship has been published in the Journal of the American Planning Association, Journal of Planning History, Preventive Medicine, International Journal of Health Policy and Management, and Gender & Development.
Katie's current research explores the intersection of generative artificial intelligence and planning education, proposing a framework of "critical collaboration with AI" that prioritizes human-centered skills. She is also examining how historical planning documents and science fiction cinema can help rebuild planning's imaginative capacities to help communities envision urban futures beyond crisis-dominated narratives.