MESM 2021
Bio
Kat graduated from Cornell University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, and two minors: (A) Environment and Resource Economics, and (B) International Development. She then worked for The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Cornell University, and Epic Software Systems in positions including project management and implementation, marketing, collaborative science development, public data accessibility, and community-based fisheries management. Recently, Kat has focused on launching SmallScaleOA in Southeast Asia, a data economy for the seafood industry and coastal communities. SmallScaleOA’s decentralized digital network aims to enable and incentivize data-based decision-making. To support SmallScaleOA, Kat has enrolled in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, where she will concentrate in Coastal Marine Resource Management and pursue the Eco Entrepreneurship focus. After Bren, she intends to pursue an economics PhD while growing SmallScaleOA. Ultimately, Kat aims to use SmallScaleOA to shift the structure of incentives in the seafood industry and Southeast Asia’s coastal communities. By changing the way our decision-making system functions, Kat and SmallScaleOA will enable efficient, equitable, and truly sustainable management of aquatic resources.