Catherine has always known that she wanted to work with children. She originally went to school to become a speech language pathologist and then stumbled across an education program at the University of Georgia called Birth to Kindergarten. She thought, "Play with babies all day? Heck yes!" and the rest is history. In her final year of her program she was placed in a self-contained special education classroom in rural Georgia... and fell in love even more. But she realized that she was doing so much more than simply teaching, so she went onto Valdosta State University to pursue her master's degree in social work. 

Catherine has worked with Babies Can't Wait as an Early Intervention Specialist performing developmental evaluations, supervising special instructors, and training multi-disciplinary evaluators. She has also worked with county school districts as a preschool special education teacher and as a preschool educational diagnostician performing developmental educational assessments to aid in determining eligibilty for special education. Additionally, she has worked in foster care as a home evaluator focusing on foster families. While working in foster care, Catherine was a certified Family IMPACT trainer through the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services.

Catherine is a licensed master level social worker (LMSW) in Georgia and is teaching certified in Birth to Kindergarten, Preschool Special Education, and School Social Work. Catherine is a graduate of the 2020-2021 Georgia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (GaLEND) program, which focused on Maternal Child Health Leadership Competencies and interdisciplinary training. In 2021, Catherine obtained a graduate certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from the University of Georgia. 

In 2023, Catherine was selected as the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation's Public Policy Fellow and worked on the Disability Policy Team in the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and with the Policy Team for the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD). She has consulted with national organizations, institutes of higher education, and non-profits on early intervention teaming and leadership competencies, federal education and disability policy, and state-level systems collaboration. In 2024, Catherine received the Jane E. West Spark Award from the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, which is awarded to a doctoral student who advocates and makes a difference in moving policy forward for special education teacher preparation. 

Catherine holds a PhD in Special Education with a focus on early childhood years and educational policy. from the University of Georgia. In the form of professional services, she focuses on research and technical assistance in the areas of systems development, state and programs leadership, education and disability policy, and teaming and provider support in the areas of early intervention and early childhood special education. 

Catherine has worked with the Early Childhood Personnel Center, a federally funded technical assistance center for EI/ECSE workforce development, and helped lead a state-wide effort to redevelop Georgia Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (a component within Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]). 

She is a guest lecturer on topics such as trauma informed care in infant and toddler development, early intervention teaming and best practices, leadership development, and education & disability policy. She has also supported organizations by creating training programs, designing, implementing, and reporting research, and partnering to provide information on state systems and best practices.