SERVIR Profile of Katherine Casey

Name: Katherine Casey
Affiliation: SERVIR Support Team
Role/Title: Knowledge Management Lead
Year you joined SERVIR: 2017

Please introduce yourself. What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about access to information - doing my part to make information available - and supporting access through outreach and communications. Too often knowledge emerges during a project and dissipates upon the project's completion - a cycle at odds with the goals of development and a barrier to professional and organizational growth. I am interested in creating ways for teams to apply information to create new knowledge or skills that transcend an individual project.

What initially attracted you to this field of work?
Access to information is especially critical in the sciences - and yet researchers in developing countries often do not have access to the same information and resources as their counterparts in the States. I became very familiar with these challenges through my work with the scientific community in Central Asia.  As a result, I am particularly passionate about removing barriers for scientists - so that they can focus on solving problems that affect us globally.

What SERVIR activity are you currently working on?
I am currently reviewing several SERVIR knowledge management tools and systems to identify ways we can improve access and use. Even when tools are working well, it is useful to reflect on how they are meeting our goals, what could improve our users' experience, and how complementary activities like communications or capacity building can support access and use.

How does your work generate positive change?
I am in a unique position to harness information from across the SERVIR network into tools and systems that share this knowledge with the broader development and scientific community. I also support internal knowledge sharing within the network - creating spaces for my colleagues to learn from each other.