She received her doctoral degree in special education with an emphasis in autism spectrum disorders and applied behavior analysis from the University of Georgia. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D), an executive director for the South Dakota Association of Behavior Analysis, and serves on the editorial board of TEACHING Exceptional Children. Before coming to Augustana in the fall of 2015, Kathleen taught students with special needs in Georgia public schools for 10 years. Her research interests include self-management and applied behavior analysis with teens and young adults with autism and developmental disabilities.