When Katherine Brown walked through Moraine Valley鈥檚 doors in 2012, she was looking for an affordable way to continue her education. What she found was a strong academic foundation, exposure to high academic standards and opportunities that eventually would give her the confidence to take her from local classrooms to international conferences.
Brown attended Moraine Valley from 2012 to 2014 before transferring to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in European Union studies. Today, she serves as an Impact and Innovation director at the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, the largest domestic violence nonprofit in Chicago’s south suburbs.
A native of Crestwood and graduate of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, Brown chose Moraine Valley because she could not justify the cost of a four-year undergraduate degree, especially knowing she planned to pursue graduate studies in the future. This decision allowed her to continue her education while gaining valuable professional experience through a two-year internship with the U.S. Senate.
More than a decade later, one experience at Moraine Valley continues to stand out to Brown. She credits Shelita Shaw, professor of Communications, and her COM-102 course for helping prepare her for the academic challenges she later encountered after transferring. She described Shaw as a professor who maintained clear expectations and high standards 鈥� principles that continue to influence her. 鈥淪he was not difficult 鈥� she had standards. You either met them or you didn鈥檛; that鈥檚 the real world,鈥� Brown said of Shaw鈥檚 teaching style.
鈥淭hose high expectations and the time and energy students needed to put into that class gave me a real 鈥榳ow鈥� moment that set me up for success when I transferred,鈥� Brown continued. 鈥淐OM-102 really gave me a solid foundation to build on and the confidence that I knew what I was doing.鈥� That confidence proved invaluable when she transferred. Brown described the transition as a 鈥渇reezing cold shower,鈥� but said her experience in COM-102 helped prepare her for the increased academic demands she encountered. She later completed her master鈥檚 thesis in 2018, examining the Ukrainian crisis.
Since graduating, Brown has built a career focused on innovation and supporting survivors of domestic violence. From 2018 to 2019, she worked at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs conducting research for the FBI on unmanned aerial vehicles and drones. She later moved back to the Chicagoland area and worked at various nonprofit organizations before arriving at the Crisis Center for South Suburbia in 2021. 鈥淢y work with the Crisis Center is what I鈥檓 most proud of,鈥� Brown said. She has been with the organization for nearly five years.
In her leadership role, Brown focuses on issues related to technology-facilitated abuse and the challenges survivors face in an increasingly digital world. Her expertise recently gained her an international audience when she presented at the University College London Tech Abuse Conference. There, she discussed the digital abuse that survivors experience daily, the challenges of assisting clients and concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence and tech-based harassment.
Despite her professional accomplishments, Brown remains closely connected to her roots. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, watching the Chicago Blackhawks and spending time with her two dogs, including her energetic companion, Pippa. She currently lives in her hometown of Crestwood, not far from the community where her educational journey began.
