The mission of Northwest Maritime is to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life, in a spirit of adventure and discovery.
Northwest Maritime (FEIN # 91-1931643) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Katie keeps Northwest Maritime’s operational engine running smoothly, while helping shape an organizational culture that values excellence, curiosity, and actual humans. Born & raised in Massachusetts (don’t ask her to slow down when she talks), Katie holds a degree in architecture from Princeton and a master’s in Public History and Cultural Heritage from Trinity College Dublin. Her academic work explored how cultural institutions make decisions about how to invest, what to preserve, what to change, and what to let quietly fall apart.
An accomplished mariner, Katie has long understood the world through the lens of the sea. She first went offshore at sixteen aboard the schooner Brilliant and has completed four Newport–Bermuda races and a transatlantic passage. Her USCG Captain’s license may be long expired, but the lessons of seamanship—teamwork, adaptability, and respect for forces much bigger than oneself—remain central to how she works and leads.
Before joining Northwest Maritime, Katie worked in planning and design for cultural buildings and spent many years as a management consultant, helping cultural organizations make smarter, more intentional decisions about capital projects and operations. When a job posting at Northwest Maritime appeared, it offered a rare chance to bring together her professional life, her love of the sea, and her belief that well-run organizations make room for both rigor and joy. She took it.