Dr. Elder approaches both her research and teaching by identifying and applying real-world policy trends and dynamics. With a professional background in public policy, infectious disease, and health disparities, she focuses on translating public health and scientific research into effective and equitable public policy.
Katherine ("Katie") Elder is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Communication. Prior to joining UCSB, she was on the faculty at California State University, Channel Islands (winning the Arts & Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award in 2022), and previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Health Science Center on a grant-funded project designed to tailor health-related messaging to the needs and beliefs of state legislators. She studies translation and implementation science, focusing specifically on how to bridge the gap between public health research and health policy. Her research interests are motivated by her work in the public sector. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked for two years as a program analyst in the Obama administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Recovery Act Office, where she was responsible for stimulus-created jobs data posted quarterly on Recovery.gov. She has also worked on projects for the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the U.S. Department of State in Kampala, Uganda, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ph.D. (2017), University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Health Communication
Masters of Public Affairs (2009), University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Bachelor of Arts (2006), University of California, Davis, Political Science