Spurred by a deep commitment to justice and grounded by her background as a child refugee, Kat has advised and consulted on some of the world’s most pressing contemporary challenges - from refugee integration in Europe and the Middle East during the so-called ‘refugee crisis’, to advocating for human rights in Iran, gender equality in the United States, and social cohesion policies in the UK.

Kat holds an MSc in Sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MPhil in International Development from Oxford University, and a PhD in Human Geography from University College London where she was an ESRC Scholar.

After working in 9 countries across 5 continents, Kat recently returned home to Aotearoa New Zealand. Her mission here is to bring a global vision to local realities through incisive analyses of social needs, passionate storytelling and compassionate mentoring. She engages in building strong partnerships across sectors.

As well as consulting in an advisory capacity on strategy and process, Kat also delivers persuasive and compelling speeches and co-creates inclusive, dynamic, and impactful spaces for collaboration, while championing people to engage with meaningful discourses in society. She is also the founder of Open Hearts and Minds, which works to build empathy for refugee and migrant populations through creative collaborations. Kat also offers mentoring for women of colour in Aotearoa New Zealand and regularly facilitates religious and ethnically diverse discourse spaces tackling issues related to social change.