Editor’s note: we are excited to welcome Kate Panuska, our new Operations and Finance Director, to the team!
Reading has always been a passion for Kate Panuska. In fact, it was a book by Faulkner on her now-husband Jon’s online dating profile that inspired her to connect with him for their first date. (Many years and two kids later, the rest is history, as they say!)
Kate’s love of books and her passion for working with young kids is what excited her about the opportunity to join the Book Harvest team. She loves thinking strategically about the big picture and she is excited to work with Book Harvest on “how to grow in a smart, thoughtful way so that things can stay as strong as they currently are.” She likes to use her skills to support places that are doing good work, and she knows Book Harvest has a solid foundation and is looking to grow. Having worked for the past five years in charter schools, she is also really excited about Book Harvest’s work with babies and toddlers, with whom she has missed connecting in her recent career.
Speaking of babies and toddlers, Frankie (age 3) and Juniper (age 1) are the reason that most of Kate’s reading these days consists of children’s books! When she’s not working or reading to her kids, she enjoys knitting, gardening, exploring and trying new restaurants, swimming, and hiking. She has loved living in Durham for the past year, where it is “so easy to build community! My plan was to sit on the porch and meet my neighbors, and it’s worked!”
We’d love for you to stop by our Rockwood office to meet Kate and welcome her to the Book Harvest community! Or you can connect with her by email at kate@bookharvestnc.org.