Hello,

My name is Katherine and I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs. Growing up, I was a big reader and loved the books of John Bellairs, John Christopher and E Nesbit. I also spent hours as a kid sewing doll clothes. I played with dolls, but playing with dolls involved multiple clothing changes because they needed to have the perfect outfit. It was clear early on that I was a cat person. Very few cats didn’t end up sitting on my lap.

I ended up going to Sarah Lawrence because I wanted to be a novelist, but figured I’d get a degree in something practical in case the novelist career didn't work out. As you probably guessed, it didn’t and I spent the first part of my career working in biomedical research, more specifically global health. I found parasites fascinating and this was an opportunity to study them while also doing work that could help some of the poorest people in the world. I moved to Seattle in 2007 to pursue a PhD in the field and worked on Leishmania before dropping out of the program. I realized that the job prospects weren’t great even with the Gates Foundation money. So I taught myself to code and moved into tech roles. I now work in health tech. I have typical 9-5 hours and don’t have to travel. I own a 1908 apartment in a co-op in Lower Queen Anne in Seattle. It’s a lovely apartment with big windows and high ceilings, though those high ceilings make it a pain to change the lightbulbs. Right now, I’m on the co-op board, which has given me so many stories. My neighborhood is close to downtown and at the bottom of on of the city’s larger hills and near a large park. I’m in the process of getting the apartment ready to sell so that I can buy a larger place. I share this apartment with a very cuddly 14 year old black cat named Eris. I thought I was being clever naming her after the Greek goddess of chaos and discord, but she though I was setting clear behavioral expectations.

I realized that I really wanted kids in my late 20’s, and started looking for a husband around 30. I just couldn’t find anyone who was ready to settle down an have kids and decided that I’d do it on my own in 2020. I knew I was cutting it close, and if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I would probably be telling stories about my preschooler. The shutdowns delayed my IVF treatments long enough that by the time I started, I had few viable eggs. I’ve been through three cycles and without any viable embryos from my own eggs. At my age, I only want one child. When I started my first cycle, I realized that in the unlikely event that I had extra embryos, I’d want to donate them rather than have them destroyed. Even though I started the process to become an egg donor in my 20’s and would almost certainly have happily gone through with it if I’d been accepted, I felt uneasy about using donated eggs, especially since they would be fertilized by donor sperm. Embryo adoption did not make me uneasy or make me wonder about the ethics of the process.

My family has always been close. My parents are still alive and I have a sister who is 3 years younger. We have a group text that we use almost daily — things like updates on what my two nephews are doing, my cat Eris’s antics, stories about my parents’ or sister’s dogs, book recommendations, or even the movies we’ve seen. Ideally, I’d like to find a job in Philly so that I can move back east and be closer to family. In addition, I’m close with a cousin in Massachusetts; during winter, we will often text back and forth about who has worse weather, and it’s usually Seattle because it’s not just cold and wet, it’s also dark. My family is very big on unconditional love, something I do my best to continue. For years, my family has done takeout pizza on Christmas Eve for years. We are not Italian American and I don’t remember when it started, but it is fun to spend Christmas Eve eating pizza. Prior to Christmas, we make a lot of cookies. They usually last a month. I cook something vegetarian and someone else cooks a turkey.

In general, my health is pretty good. I try to get 40-60 minutes of vigorous exercise a day because doing most things is easier if you’re fit. I also have found that I sleep better, have more energy and am sharper if I get regular exercise. As a child I developed OCD and as a teenager depression. Both have been kept under control with periodic RTMS. My only other health concerns are migraines and a genetic mutation that modestly raises my risk ovarian (but only ovarian cancer) modestly, for which I’ll be getting risk reducing surgery. As a child, I managed to eat so many raw green beans that I gave myself a rash. My pediatrician had heard of it, but never seen it. I still love raw green beans and am now a vegetarian who doesn’t like tofu, which means lots of legumes.

My love of sewing has not dissipated since I was a kid. I now sew most of my own clothes and occasionally will sew for a friend or relative. I also knit, so any child of mine will never want for sweaters. Right now, I’m part of two book clubs, which is a great way to combine reading and socializing. I still read a lot, favoring literary fiction, espionage thrillers, mystery novels and science fiction. One of the things I share with my family is a love of bad old science fiction movies, and often put Mystery Science Theater 3000 on in the background when I’m trying to do something that requires moderate distraction. When the weather is nice, I like to go on long walks. I do urban orienteering, even in the winter when it’s pouring. Like most people my age, I listen to a lot of alternative music as well as classic rock and classical music. Stereotypically, I love Bach, but also Schoenberg and Part.

My biggest flaws are stubbornness and impatience; over the years I’ve learned to pick my battles and take deep breaths. I’m curious and try to get as much information as possible before making a decision. That does mean that I often make decisions at the absolute last moment, but that’s something I’m working on. Though I’m not religious, if I had to describe my religion, I’d say I’m a lapsed Quaker. And I try to live those values even though I’m not a believer or a strict pacifist anymore.

Katherine