Experience
Summit Camp, Greenland Icecap; Polar Field Services (CH2MHill and VECO)
Site Supervisor Summer 2013
* Managed site of 50 personnel at deep field arctic research station.
* Major projects this deployment included development of site with long term growth planned, transitioning crews to longer seasons and raising drifted facilities.
Lead Research Associate and Designated Medical Officer Summers 2004 – 2006
* Managed team to operate and collect data for dozens of NSF-funded field projects.
* Managed station’s emergency response and patient care.
* Assisted manager with all aspects of supporting research population of up to 50 people.
South Pole Station, Antarctica; Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Polar Services
Winter Site Manager June 2007 – November 2008; May 2011 – November 2012
* Managed, screened, trained and responsible for team of 50 to 60 Winter Crew supporting over 20 long-term NSF grant-funded projects 2008 and during 2012 contractor transition.
* Contracting Officers Technical Representative for LM and RPS subcontracts.
* Managed administrative continuity for LM and RPS operations and support services and ensured compliance with USAP Master Permit in implementing EH&S programs.
* Incident Commander for all station year-round emergency preparation and response for population of up to 250 staff and researchers. Managed Remote and Technical Rescue, Fire Trauma and Advanced Medical Response.
Communications Coordinator Austral Summers 2004 - 2007
* Coordinated on-station, international, aircraft, and emergency dispatch communications.
* Developed and supervised team of 30 for trauma emergency response.
* Lead Journalist, Staff Writer and Photographer for The Antarctic Sun (2004 – 2012).
Senior Meteorologist Winter Over 2002 - 2003
* Managed team of 2-4 to collect and report meteorological data and maintain instruments.
* Volunteer for Medicine and Surgery, Med-Evac, Fire (SCBA) and Extrication Teams.
Christchurch, New Zealand; Medical Devices Consultancy, Ltd
Clinical Research Associate May 2009 – July 2011
* Developed SOPs and training for a $4 mil cardiac devices research project.
* Managed QA/QC and data collection e-CRF from 15 international sites > 5,000 subjects.
National Ice Corps Laboratory, Denver CO; University of New Hampshire
Ice Core Technician Summer 2007
* Processed deep ice core (3000m) with diverse team of ice scientists in freezer laboratory.
Mount Washington, New Hampshire; Mount Washington Observatory
Weather Observer and Summit Supervisor October 2000 – September 2002
* Managed summit personnel, operations, training and local S&R operations.
* Consult for $1million equipment upgrade grant and performed daily local radio shows.
Mount Washington, Pinkham Notch, and Pittsburg, NH; Appalachian Mountain Club
Air Quality Research Associate June 1998 – August 2002
* Lead for team of 2 to collect data at summit, class-1 airshed and US/Canadian border sites.
* Monitored tropospheric O3, aerosols <2.5 µm, rain, cloud and stream chemistry sampling.
* Visitor education in air quality science and policies, and public health research.
* Built poster for the National Mountain Conference 2000.
Volunteer Leadership
Oberlin, OH; Oberlin Students Cooperative Association
CEO-Membership Secretary and Board Member May 1998 – July 1999
* Negotiated 3-year rent contract for $2 million corporation.
* Managed personnel, corporate policies, 2,500 applicants lottery and rolling 630 members.
Loose-Ends Coordinator September 1996 – May 1998
* Facilitated decision making for all departments within co-operatives up to 75 members.
Oberlin OH; Oberlin College Outing Club
Co-Chair and Treasurer May 1998 – May 2000
* Managed program development with College staff, membership, treasury, and trainings.
* Led a one-week backpacking trip in the Great Smokey Mountains.
* Developed recreation and training with Cleveland Grotto and the Cleveland Rock Gym.
Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Concord MA January 1999
Audubon Society
Wildlife rescue sanctuary and working farm volunteer.
Concord MA; Patriots’ Trail Council
Girl Scouts of America September 1984 – September 1996
* Earned Gold Award.
* Taught leadership, science, and outdoors skills, active with counseling and fund-raising.
Concord and Carlisle, MA; Bartlett, NH
Baby-sitter 1988 - 2000
Active with baby-sitting for my communities.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Majors: • Biology • Environmental Studies Minor: Geology
Oberlin College; Oberlin, OH May 2000
Independent Study of Groundwater Contamination and Bioremediation
Permaculture Design Certificate
Conscious Sustainable Living by Design; Whanganui, NZ March 2010
Emergency Medicine
ACLS – American Heart Association; Boston MA January 2009
EMT I/85 – Advanced Life Support Institute; Conway NH April 2005
WEMT – SOLO; Conway NH. WMI; Various CO. March 2004
Real-Time Weather Studies
American Meteorological Society at SUNY; Brockport, NY January 2002
Oberlin College Winter Term Project
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ January 2000
DNA sequencing of Nectria haematococca using E. coli with techniques including DNA isolation, polymerase chain reactions, restriction endonuclease use, and TA cloning
Certifications
Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate (SOLO Exp.04/15, ALSI Exp. 03/15)
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (AHA Exp. 03/15)
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for the Healthcare Provider (AHA Exp. 03/15)
OSHA 10hr General Industry Outreach (04/2013)
Air Transportation of Hazardous Materials & Military Airlift (TSI Exp. 3/06)
Firefighter, Level 1 for South Pole Winterover Teams (2002, 2007, 2011)
Incident Command System 100, 200 and 700 (2007, 2011)
Certification to Observe Weather - USDC (METAR); FMH-1, 2, and 3 (2000, refresher in 2013)
Permaculture Design Certificate (2010)
Mensa NZ and guest at American Mensa and Mensa International (2009)
Mysterium IV (2009)
International High IQ (2007)
Field Science Support and Deep Field Camp Management
* Extreme cold weather survival and travel (experienced: -75.8°C and 116kt independently)
* Communications Equipment and Protocol: HF, RTTY, VHF, UHF, Iridium, VoIP
* Heavy equipment operation, 2 and 4 stroke gas and electric-powered snow vehicles
* Air force cargo pallet building for military transport including HAZMAT
* Traverse rescue and instrument recovery navigating by GPSs and home-made sextant
* Small and large-scale snow accumulation measurements
* Life Systems Operations including 475-kW generator monitoring
* Snow fence/foil modeling
* Food Ordering, Meal Planning and Meal Preparation (1 to 110 people)
Instrumentation Skills
Data collection using instrumentation including:
* Liquid nitrogen-dependent ground-based radiometer
* High-resolution scanning spectroradiometer
* Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer
* IACETH Gonio-Spectrometer for hyperspectral HDRF
* TEI and DASIBI aethalometers, O3 and CO monitors calibration and operation
* XBOB operation and Borehole Optical Stratigraphy
* Harvard Impactor and UC Davis DELTA Group 8 –DRUM impactor
* Data collection for Class 1 airshed rain, cloud and stream chemistry sampling.
* Ambient air sampling for 7Be and 210Pb with glass fiber filters
* Persistent Organic Pollutant sampling with polyurethane foam
* Ozonesonde and Radiosonde pre-flight preparation and launch
* pH and electrical conductivity meters calibration and operation
* Trimble surveying NetRS receiver, base station, and rover RTK
* A wide variety of meteorological instruments including heated pitot anemometers
* High Performance Liquid Chromatography
* Electronics debugging and soldering
Hawley, Robert L. Borehole Investigations of Firn Processes. Diss. University of Washington, 2005. .
Computer Skills
Operating Systems: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, UNIX, DOS
Database Programs: eCRF, MAPCON, MS Excel, Access, PC-208, Trimble Geomatics, Strato, SUV-150, DOASIS, MS Access, VB, Legacy 7.5.
Awards and Honorable Recognitions at South Pole
Antarctica Service Medal – Silver Winter Over (for winters 2003, 2008, 2012)
*Development of Station-Wide Safety Project – Scott Marble, Area Director
*“Overall, Katie performed outstandingly. The well-being of both herself and the entire winter population is a testament to this performance” – Dave Scheuerman, Area Manager
* Development of Economical Maintenance – Martin Lewis, Technical Support Manager
*Medicine and Surgery Team Member - Dr. Malcolm Arnold, Clinic Director
*US Postal Services Volunteer - Elizabeth Watson, Station Support Supervisor
*Trauma Team Coordinator (30 volunteers) - Elizabeth Watson, Station Support Supervisor
*Antarctic Sun Lead Journalist and Staff Writer - Peter Rejcek, Senior Editor
*Mechanical Systems and Software Manager for Food Growth Chamber Martian deployment design testing - Lane Patterson, Agriculture and Biosystems Engineer
*Safety Performance, - Lynette Stauch, Safety Engineer
Musicianship - Violist and Oboist
Fiddle Player for bluegrass at Open Mic, South Pole, 2012
Taught violin and performed duets at Station Open Ceremony, South Pole, 2003
Oberlin Community Orchestra Violist; Oberlin, OH; 1999
Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra; Boston, MA 1994 – 1996
* Toured Italy with the Senior Orchestra (1996).
* First youth orchestra to play at the Ravenna Festival.
* Principle Violist of the Repertory Orchestra (1995) and toured Twin Cities, MN (1995).
* Guest Oboist and English Horn Player during tour in 1995.
All-State and District Orchestras Violist; MA 1993 – 1996
Spencer Brook Youth Valley Orchestra Violist; Concord, MA 1992 – 1996
Backcountry, Travel and some Publications
Xkcd. "Geohashing." 2012-02-26-global. Xkcd.com, 27 Feb. 2012. Web.
Earned at least 7 achievements.
South Pole Station, Antarctica; North Conway NH, Mount Washington Observatory
Travel Writer September 2008
Hess, Katie. "Hess Reflects on South Pole and Rockpile Life." Windswept 49.4 (2009): n. pag. Print.
South Pole Station, Antarctica; Oakland CA, Lonely Planet Publications
Travel Writer March 2008
Hess, Katherine. "Living at the South Pole." Antarctica. By Jeff Rubin. Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications, 2008. 330-31. Print.
White Mountains; Appalachian Mountain Club
Shelters Caretaker September 2004
* Managed backcountry shelters in National Forest. Maintained human compost, provided visitor education and performed trail work including dry stone masonry.
Meredith, NH; Camp Menotomy
Camp Counselor Summers 1994 – 1995
* Responsible for groups of 10-20 participants ages 6-17 at overnight camp.
* Taught survival, sports, music, crafts and provided leadership for other camp activities.
New Zealand 2004 – 2010
* Climbed 9 peaks including Tapuae-o-Unenuku (2,885m).
* Completed an additional 5 other backcountry treks.
* Active member of the University of Canterbury Tramping Club (2009 - 2010).
* Lead tours of South Island’s unique biology, geology, farms, trekking and caving.
Sri Lanka 2009
* Sigiriya (270m) and surrounding World Heritage Site.
Tanzania 2003
* Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m).
* Explored Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks, Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Thorung La, Nepal (5,416m) 2003
* Trekked Around Annapurna Circuit and explored Chitwan National Park jungle.
Rarotonga, North Cook Islands 2003
* Climbed Te Manga (country high point 653m).
Mountain Climbing 1990 – 2009
* All 72 Trailwright New Hampshire 4,000ft Peaks
* 27 World 600m Prominence Peaks
* 18 USA County High Points |