As the director of strategic communications and marketing, Kate Awsumb leads integrated communications strategy for the University’s operational backbone. Her team handles everything from high-level planning to day-to-day execution for the departments that keep the University running—like facilities, housing and campus planning.

A veteran public-sector communicator, Kate has spent nearly two decades leading communications for large organizations including the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is skilled in crisis communication, translating the complex into the simple, and designing strategies that deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

Kate holds master’s degrees in communications and public health from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ithaca College.