A conversation with community resilience researcher Kate Hoppe

Kate Hoppe, MA, MPH, started her doctoral studies in public health sciences at WashU already an accomplished professional with nearly a decade’s experience working in public health. She had already held positions in academia, nonprofits, government and private industry, tackling issues as diverse as tobacco use, diabetes and the health effects of climate change. Through it all, her aim has been to help communities become healthier and more resilient.

Before joining WashU, Hoppe founded CivicPoint Consulting, a management consulting firm that works with organizations to promote health equity and social justice in partnership with communities. From 2018 to 2020, she served on the Board of Health Commissioners in Kansas City, Mo., where she advocated for an evidence-based violence-prevention initiative and launched the Community Health Improvement Planning Committee to address the root causes of low life expectancy and inequity in the community.

Hoppe’s doctoral research focused on the relationship between power outages and social vulnerability in the St. Louis region. She plans to defend her dissertation this spring. Here, she talks about her research, and how she would like to apply her public health education. 

— Tamara Schneider/WashU Public Health

Video and illustration produced by Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health