Kate Watson serves as the Assistant Director of Research & Evaluation for Appalachian State University’s GEAR UP program, a federal initiative dedicated to increasing college access and success for students in Western North Carolina. She has over a decade of experience in education, including teaching roles in Iredell and Gaston County Schools in North Carolina, as well as leadership and research positions across the country. She holds a Ph.D. in Education Leadership, Research, and Policy from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and her research focus is on K-12 educational policy an ways to foster educational equity.