President & Chief Executive Officer

Kate is a dynamic and outcomes driven leader with 20 years' experience in child welfare, serving in local, state, and national roles. With a focus on building strong foundations around data, systems, processes and leadership, Kate has scaled steady programs, built new ones from the ground up, and revived struggling teams and organizations to achieve success for children and families. Kate began her career as a caseworker at the SC Department of Social Services, rising to various levels of leadership throughout her tenure that offered the opportunity to influence and improve people and systems. Prior to joining Growing Hope in early 2025, she served as Vice President of Federal Programs, working in the federal grantee space for six years, partnering with the US Children's Bureau to operate national capacity building centers. She led the AdoptUSKids capacity building arm of the project with enormous success, focusing on diligent recruitment and retention in public child welfare systems, influencing and shaping efforts in countless states, tribes, and US territories. Her team's work led to the expansion of funding for its very own national Center, the National Center for Diligent Recruitment, which she helped launch with her partners. She was also a foundational partner for a second new capacity building center, the National Center for Post Adoption Support, serving as senior advisor to build and develop the center. Through these experiences, Kate has gained a unique perspective in child welfare that has shaped who she is today.

Kate's vision is to transform the foster care experience in South Carolinian so that children can thrive in their own communities, and their needs are met through the system. Every need, every time, every child.

Kate lives in Ballentine with her husband, Chris, their four children, and their five kitties. Aside from her family and work, Kate loves snow, the mountains, and a medium-rare ribeye grilled by the best chef in town (her husband).