SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL
In July 2020, Kat stepped up to fill an appointed spot on the LaSalle LSC, was elected Secretary, and got to work right away. She helped her school achieve their goal for their 100% Digital Access campaign within the first weeks of school -- ensuring that every student could connect to a device and reliable internet to navigate remote learning. Meanwhile, Kat supported administration and fellow council members on more effective collaboration and communications strategies, including council member training.
In November 2020, she was reelected to the LSC, and in January 2021, voted Chair.
SUPPORTING CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
There's a great need for visionary parents to step up and lead in a number of ways to make things happen in Chicago's Public Schools. Outside of Kat's work on the LSC, she stepped up to support our citywide CPS community with CTU and Fox32/My50 to broadcast Season 2 of We Still Teach. We Still Teach puts teachers on television to bridge the digital divide and connect more than 50K families weekly throughout 100+ mile radius of Chicago. Kat also developed and taught in a professional development training in more robust remote learning for CPS teachers through the CTU Foundation.
After decades of experience as a grassroots community organizer and changemaker impacting policy and cultural changes at the national level as well as the state and local levels from L.A. to Chicago, Kat is eager to share ideas for how to connect our community.
AS AN EDUCATOR
Outside of her work in Hollywood, Katherine is a teaching artist and community activist with a passion for building pathways to platforms for underrepresented voices, and mentoring up-and-coming content creators. She was tapped to develop the screenwriting program at The Second City’s Harold Ramis Film School in Chicago and is a professor at the world’s only accredited MFA in Comedy program at DePaul University, in partnership with The Second City. She also teaches at Columbia College Chicago, and works as an educational consultant for the Doha Film Institute in Doha, Qatar. Katherine is a frequent panelist at Chicago film events, especially in support of women and underrepresented voices in comedy and how to navigate opportunities in the Hollywood-based film industry. Her guest speaker appearances include supporting the Chicago Comedy Festival, Scruggs Fest at The Second City, NYTVF, the Austin Film Festival, and (upcoming) Northern Michigan University. Additionally, she serves on the jury for the student competition in the JCC Chicago Jewish Film Festival and has done so for the past three years.