Attracted to working with children with special needs, Kathy received a BA and MA in Education, which she applied to working with children from the inner city and early childhood special education. Always interested in adoption, Kathy became the adoptive parent of children from Vietnam, Colombia and Korea. When the Vietnam War ended, she worked with other adoptive parents in St. Louis to sponsor a family of seven to immigrate to the US.

Kathy later changed careers from children to adults as Director of Organizational Development at Loyola and Rush hospitals in Chicago and Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC. After retiring from full-time work, she has consulted on leadership development, performance management, diversity, and change leadership. She currently volunteers with The Women’s Fund, which provides grants to increase economic security for women and girls. She also participates in helping political campaigns and is actively involved with her church. After traveling to Vietnam in 2018, Kathy wanted to give back to the country and discovered Children of Vietnam. She helped build a school just before joining the Board, and she currently serves on the Development Committee.