Kathryn Leach

Katie graduated from the University of Rochester with her Ph.D. in physical chemistry (focus: nanomaterials) and the relocated outside of Chicago to work in industry as a Research Scientist for a small environmental lab that performed contract work for the government, where she developed carbon nanotube sensors to detect trace amounts of warfare agents. Unfortunately, after only two years, the lab closed and Katie was laid off. Because of networking at the ACS national meeting in Anaheim, Katie landed her next position as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Valparaiso University, which converted into a Lecturer position after three years. During her time at Valpo, she helped with numerous hiring committees as the Chemistry Department nearly doubled in size! After nearly nine years at Valpo, she was laid off because of declining enrollment caused by the pandemic. She is currently serving as an Independent Contractor for McGraw-Hill, where she works on projects that support the online chemistry homework sales and marketing teams. 

Katie has perspective on working in both industry and academic and has had two experiences where she pursued new opportunities she never expected to pursue after being laid off.  Katie loves sharing her insights about the higher education landscape, the application portfolio, managing a family and career, and the hiring process.  Katie especially loves to encourage job seekers to network, conduct that career research needed to find your next great job.