Originally from Reno Nevada, Katie has lived in Seattle for over 30 years. Katie is an enrolled member of the Fallon Nevada Paiute Shoshone Tribe, with her paternal blood lines being Shoshone, descending from the Western Shoshone Black Eye family.
Katie attended the University of Washington in her mid-twenties after receiving her GED and AA at South Seattle Community College. Inspired by her nieces and nephew and having the honor of supporting their parents in raising them and watching them grow, Katie earned her BA in Early Childhood and Family Studies in 2011. Upon graduation,Katie and her family were invited to the Ravens Feast – the Native UW Graduation Ceremony, then held at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. There she was able to meet people who worked in the Early Head Start Program and her career in early childhood home visiting began.
Since, Katie has worked in many homes and has met people from countless different tribes and is constant awe of the incredible people she meets. Knowing what a privilege it is being welcomed to work with native families in their homes, Katie continues to listen, learn and strive for the best support she can for her community.
During her career, Katie has helped develop two urban native family programs and now gets to use a lot of what she’s learned and work at Hummingbird Indigenous Family
Services, Pilimakua Family Connections. Katie’s is so grateful to be working at Hummingbird as a Professional Auntie and to be able to work for an organization with shared morals, integrity and drive.
