Katie’s passion for public health, research and education led her to Sansum Diabetes Research Institute in 2018, where she has taught nutrition, diabetes prevention and self-management classes. Katie has curated content for our bilingual web resource, latinodiabetes.sansum.org, since its inception in 2018. In 2021, Katie combined her interests in food science, social justice, and education to launch SDRI’s Veggie IQ Program. In this youth-led movement, local teens learn about science, nutrition, technology, and marketing to encourage their peers to think about food as medicine.
Katie holds a Masters of Education with a specialization in working with at-risk youth from marginalized communities. She has devoted her career to helping underserved populations thrive through access to resources, care, and support. Katie has worked in education in South America, and also co-founded a local organization that empowers underrepresented youth on the path to college. Katie is excited to be part of the community-level change that SDRI is creating here in her hometown of Santa Barbara.