Kate is the Executive Vice President at Regional Plan Association, overseeing RPA’s programs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and working to advance RPA’s mission toward improved mobility, equitable economic growth, and environmental resiliency. Kate led RPA’s advocacy for New York City’s congestion pricing program which was authorized by the New York State Legislature in April 2019 and is expected to start in 2024.
Kate has over two decades of experience advocating for more equitable and climate friendly transportation in the New York metropolitan area. She is deeply committed to addressing the region’s housing affordability and climate challenges and promoting a more inclusive society.
Before coming to RPA in 2016, she served as assistant commissioner for government and community affairs at the New York City Department of Transportation where she managed the legislative program for former Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Previously, she spent a decade at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign serving as executive director from 2007-2012. During her tenure, Kate successfully fought against cuts to public transportation, helped to secure millions of dollars in new funding for cycling, walking, and sustainable development, and received the EPA’s Environmental Quality Award in 2011. Kate started her career at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation as an urban park ranger in Brooklyn and has also worked at the Municipal Art Society and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Kate has a master’s in urban planning from New York University, a bachelor’s in earth and environmental sciences from Wesleyan University and is an alumna of the International Honors Program. She lives in a union household with her husband, a professor at the City University of New York, and their two children.