Kate O’Brien is a community engagement professional who is extremely passionate about dialogue across differences. All of her formative experiences as a youth and young adult – most notably her involvement in Focolare – instilled a lifelong desire in her to work for a more united society. This led her to study Political Science as an undergraduate student and Multicultural Mediation and Nonprofit Management as a graduate student.
She currently serves as the Director of Mercy Service at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she is dedicated to building meaningful relationships with local and national partners through a lens of asset-based community development. She has a passion for civic engagement education, advocacy training, and dialogue in the public sphere and, with her friends in Focolare, she works hard to foster spaces where critical conversations around racial justice, equity, and conflict resolution can happen.
She is a consecrated member of the Focolare Movement and has lived in Focolare houses in Italy, Switzerland, Texas, and Pennsylvania. She is preparing to move to Washington DC for her Focolare ministry.