Katarina grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She completed her Master's in Public Health at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and her Bachelor's degrees in Journalism and Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining Global Health Corps, Katarina completed a two-year public health fellowship in Milwaukee as a Wisconsin Population Health Service Fellow. During her fellowship, she worked on a research project studying the connections between economic status and HIV in Malawi, helped to develop a community health worker program aimed at breast and cervical cancer prevention with Hmong women in Milwaukee, and directed social network diagram efforts to manage hepatitis C and tuberculosis outbreaks in Wisconsin. She has previously worked on public health projects in Tanzania, Uganda, and Malawi. Katarina enjoys rock climbing and is working to hike to the top of the highest point in each of the fifty states.