Kate’s work as a planner, programmer, and project manager stems from her ability to connect with diverse people in a way that makes them feel genuinely seen, heard, respected, and valued. Her warmth and concern for human welfare finds inspiration in Mr. Rogers, who recognized that “When we love a person, we accept them exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the façade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way.” But empathy and communication are not the only ingredients in Kate’s recipe for engaging people in successful project visioning and planning. Her ability to guide efficient, evidence-driven processes provides an additional, and crucial, foundation for the analytical reasoning that partners with creativity to drive successful design thinking.
To celebrate the firm's 40th anniversary, staff were challenged to share their imagination and design thinking by creating a row house concept. Here is Kate's.
Statement:
When I think of design, I automatically think of problem solving and elegance, but when I think about what is missing, what I want to see more of, the words that come to mind are joy, fun, accessible, and inclusive. This is why I chose to build my rowhouse in Minecraft. By using a game, my design reminds us that we learn best through play. Minecraft has been used to teach lessons in science and sustainability. It has been used for interactive community planning discussions to design public spaces like plazas and parks. Play is also a wonderful way to build connection and community.
My biggest goals in stakeholder engagement are to promote a collaborative design process; a journey that allows each voice to be heard and then in both design process and outcome, to be accessible for all.
My design itself is ordered and calm. As my favorite color, purple dominates and brings a theme of deep reflection, wisdom, and strength. Details hint at a love of libraries and nature.
