Kate Panuska

Director of Operations and Finance

kate@bookharvest.org

Start Date: July of 2019

Role at Book Harvest: Responsible for the management and execution of operations, financial systems, and human resources on both a long-term and daily basis.

Favorite Children’s Books: Longtime favorites are The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Erin Stead as an illustrator. Roxaboxen is a newly discovered book about the magic of childhood imagination that reminds Kate of her time living in the Southwest.

Likes & Loves: Most of her time outside of work is spent with her husband and two little girls (soon to be 3 and 5). They’ve been working a lot of weekends lately on a miniature fairy garden world to eventually encompass a corner of their yard. Kind of like a Roxaboxen! Kate has enjoyed watching the girls and the neighborhood kids imagine and then create tiny worlds for the characters and animals.

Community Involvement: OAR Durham, Chatham County Bee Association, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network – Triangle NC, League of Women Voters – Orange, Durham and Chatham County

Where she studied: Tulane University, B.A.; City University of New York, M.Ed; New York University, M.B.A

Experience: 20 years in non-profit experience, 5 of which were in charter school networks

What she’s hopeful for: An acceptance of progressive political policies that more directly benefit BIPOC, gender inclusive, and non-affluent groups of people.

“... what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.” ―The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
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