Cathy grew up in Chicago and other than riding her bike around the neighborhood had little contact with nature and the outdoors. After graduating from the University of Illinois in finance she pursued a 12 year career in the private sector, working for IBM and large financial institutions. In her mid-30s she had an early mid-life crisis and quit her job to pursue her goal of visiting as many national parks as she could in the course of six months. During that trip she visited Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and fell in love with Montana. She moved to Bozeman in 1991 and after attaining a master’s degree from Montana State University, pursued a 20-year career in public health. For the past 13 years Cathy has worked on statewide initiatives focused on the connection between public health and community design. In partnership with statewide advisors and mentor counties, Cathy developed the Montana Building Active Communities Initiative (BACI) and worked statewide to provide technical assistance and training to cities and towns working to build better places for walking, bicycling and transit. Cathy retired from MSU in 2018. She currently volunteers for causes she is passionate about and serves on the board of Headwaters Economics. In her free time she likes to travel, play the piano and hike and bike the trails in and around Bozeman.