Katie grew up in Rockford, Illinois, and studied history at Northern Illinois University for several years. There she earned her bachelor's degree, a museum studies certificate, and a master's in labor history. Katie's rigorous academic background provided opportunities to teach, present, and curate. She worked in the university archives, the Illinois Regional Archives Depository, the Midway Village and Museum Center, the Tinker Swiss Cottage, and NIU's Regional History Center.
Her time as a Huskie culminated with a Ph.D. in U.S. Twentieth Century Labor History. The title of her dissertation is "The Food Pyramid: Mexicans, Agribusiness, Governments and Communities in the Midwest Migrant Stream."
She then went on to work at the other ISU (Indiana State University) in the university archives. While there, she also earned her Master's in Library and Information Sciences, with an emphasis on archives management. Katie served as the Director of Special Collections and University Archivist for five years before accepting the position of Archivist at the McLean County Museum of History.
Katie says, "I'm happy to be back in Illinois and working somewhere my interests in history, museums, and archives can all coalesce. I am especially happy to be back in Illinois, as both my husband and I have family in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Though my eight-year-old son and almost six-year-old daughter will still complain that the trips are long, the trips to see family will be significantly shorter now. I look forward to meeting and getting to know everyone better, and I am so happy to be here."
Before retiring in May, George Perkins, the Museum's former Archivist, was able to work with Katie. The two had a handful of days together so Katie could get to know the Museum's vast collections and learn where George stored all the backups!
Katie is about a month into the job and has hit the ground running. She enjoys being able to serve a broader audience and looks forward to launching the Museum's new digital preservation policy. On the weekends, she enjoys exploring all Bloomington-Normal has to offer with her husband Joe and their two kids.
The next time you stop by the Library & Archives, make sure to say hi! You can also contact Katie by clicking here.
