Kathryn Gaasch

Kathryn Gaasch is a Program Director for MDC’s Rural Prosperity and Investment (RPI) team. She joined RPI’s flagship program, Rural Forward, as a Partnership Manager in July 2018 and was promoted to MDC Program Director in September 2021. In her role, Kathryn works to strengthen the leadership infrastructure in western NC and leads RPI’s Equitable Rural Philanthropy and Dan Broun Internship Programs. She provides a range of consulting services, including facilitation, training, coaching, relationship brokering, evaluation, program planning, and grant development. Kathryn leads RPI’s work on internal and external leadership development and has particular expertise in training leaders in conflict management & mediation, facilitation, consensus-based decision-making, and more.

Kathryn spent several years working across the mid-Atlantic region as an environmental consultant after attaining her bachelor’s degree in environmental science at Virginia Tech. Her passion for community-based work drove her to pursue a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University, with a certificate in community-based environmental management. Prior to joining MDC, Kathryn worked with a variety of nonprofits and organizations providing community-based support domestically and internationally, ranging from built environment initiatives in rural western NC to climate change adaptation solutions for coffee farmers in Latin America.