Catherine (Kate) Suffern is a research fellow on Ithaka S+R’s Educational Transformation team and a doctoral candidate in English at Columbia University. For Ithaka S+R, she is currently working to convene higher education in prison (HEP) stakeholders with the common goal of advancing empirical research in order to identify and support high-quality, equity-driven programming in the field. Kate’s passion for educational access drew her to Ithaka S+R and stems from her teaching. She has been privileged to teach incarcerated college students inside a women’s prison and undergraduates at Columbia University and Barnard College.

Kate holds an MPhil in English from Columbia University, an MA in theatre performance from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and a BA in theatre and classics from Indiana University Bloomington. Prior to pursuing her PhD, Kate worked in theatre performance and non-profit and political communications.