Kate serves as the Environmental Group Manager for the Watershed Accountability and Administration Section in the Chesapeake Watershed Restoration Division in the Bureau of Watershed Restoration and Nonpoint Source Management in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), where she has worked since 2020. She has played a key role in building the voluntary countywide action planning process and works with local partners to ensure that it continues to grow and evolve. Kate’s roles include coordinating countywide action planning and implementation efforts with local partners in Pennsylvania’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed counties and participation with the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership efforts.
Kate has played a key role in engaging with local county partners across 34 counties. Her commitment supporting county partners in this highly flexible program is seen in the positive relationships with all 34 county partners. She is a staunch advocate of the importance of partnerships, sharing success stories, and regular communications as the keys to a successful and impactful program. Kate is enthusiastic about evolving the countywide action plan program to continue to be useful to local partners and she is always looking for ways to help bring new resources and partnerships to the table. Prior to coming to DEP, Kate spent five years working as an Environmental Planner with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. In this role focused on highway traffic noise and air quality assessments for highway projects. Under her direction, Pennsylvania became the first state to approve the use of a low volume road noise calculator tool.
Kate studied Environmental Studies and Economics at Washington College and earned her Masters’ of City and Regional Planning with a concentration in Environmental Planning from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
In her free time, Kate can be found playing with her dog Diogee and going on hikes to explore stream restoration sites near her home in Lancaster County, especially if there is a good trail! Her personal motto is “I want to protect nature, but I don’t need to be in nature!” Despite her fear of creepy crawlies, she wants to make sure they will always have a healthy place to live.
