Katelyn is a master’s student at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) studying Environmental Policy. Her interests lie in the upstream regulation of manufacturers, specifically packaging manufacturers, for the purpose of developing more circular design and recovery (recycling) strategies. Katelyn understands that our production and consumption patterns are significant drivers of climate and ecological imbalance - and that we must center equity in solutions. 

Katelyn has six years of diverse professional experience working in energy and geopolitics research, curriculum development for kids on the science of energy and climate change, and as an Account Manager educating Community Choice Aggregation clean energy customers in the Bay Area, California. During her time in the renewable energy and climate space, Katelyn felt that materials management and circularity was largely missing from conversations around climate change mitigation. In 2021 she decided to transition her career and worked in the broken recycling industry for one year prior to joining SEAS.

In 2023, Katelyn was selected as a Catalyst Leadership Circle Fellow through the Graham Sustainability Institute, where she worked with the City of Holland to develop educational materials for residents in both English and Spanish around the local economic and carbon benefits of recycling. After graduation, Katelyn hopes to work in policy advocacy, consulting, or for a municipal government to build a more circular and equitable future.