Catherine joined Meeting Street in 2020, after graduating with an International Studies degree from the University of South Carolina. Led by interests in human rights and national security issues, she developed strong research and writing capabilities through her areas of study and work. In 2019, she presented her work on gender and the allocation of foreign aid at the Midwest Political Science Association conference in Chicago.

During her college tenure, Catherine volunteered as the chief education strategist for the USC Civic Leadership and Engagement team, registering more than 200 students, drawing large numbers of voters to the polls, and securing absentee ballots. She also interned with the Jewish Policy Center, where she exercised her strong writing skills covering foreign policy topics for their newsletter.