Kat attended Ashland College, (now Ashland University) in Ashland, Ohio where she received a BS in Visual Communication. She spent her senior year as an affiliate student at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  Right after graduation she took graduate classes in education and earned a teaching certificate.

Kat taught art in public schools for 29 years.  During those years, she worked with kids from a huge spectrum of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and from pre-K to AP Drawing.  She has worked as the Program Director for Eastend Studio & Gallery for the past 8 years, where she develops and teaches most of the classes.