Katie was born in Des Moines, IA and has also lived in Arizona and Kansas. She earned a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Leadership Studies from Kansas State University. While at K-State, she participated in research involving children's perceptions of teasing and completed a practicum where she worked with women and families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. Katie has been accepted directly into the Family Social Science doctoral program at the University of Minnesota and is currently pursuing her Master's degree. Her research interests lie with issues relating to adoption, such as post-placement contact between birthparents and adoptive parents, boundary ambiguity in adoption (from the perspective of the birthmother), identity development in adoptees, and adoption agency policy. She is also interested in issues relating to grief and loss, parent-child relationships and childhood
