Meet Katie (Kat) Hart | Associate Professor of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology & Licensed Psychologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie (Kat) Hart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie (Kat), where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m not originally from Miami. My family and I moved 9 times growing up – moving from roots in the state of Texas to Oklahoma, California, New York, back to California, back to New York, then eventually to the Chicagoland area. I experienced many different communities, many different schools, many different people, and connected how important community is for all people, young and old, and their mental health. Recognizing that connection, and wanting to understand how the ecosystems of our community work and how they could be improved, particularly for kids and their families, is what led me to my current job as an Associate Professor of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology at Florida International University and the Center for Children and Families.

My love of learning was supported and reinforced from an early age by my family (immediate and extended), as well as my teachers, coaches, pastors, and friends. I see now, as a scientist and clinician who specializes in understanding how we can best promote school readiness in young children, how this can vary dramatically based on the ecosystems surrounding the child. I moved to Miami in 2010 and over the last 12 years, I have been struck by how special our community is its support of children and the families, particularly through the support of The Children’s Trust, of which we as a community voted to have in existence to make sure all children and families thrive (isn’t that amazing in and of itself?!). Now, have we done enough? Are we reaching all children and families? No. But real change can only be achieved when we have the foundation to make the change happen and our community, I believe, has that foundation to make that change, and be a changemaker in world nationally for children. I hope, through our work, and through strategic partnerships with other community organizations, key stakeholders, and other universities, that we can facilitate the love of learning in more and more children, which will only help our community thrive.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a clinical child psychologist and professor. Neither profession was something my parents knew anything about in terms of helping me to figure out how to achieve. However, their support and enthusiasm for my learning was critical. I am the first in my family to earn a doctorate and feel very proud to have achieved this milestone, particularly as a woman. It was not easy at all, but I like to think of it, and my career generally as a marathon (and I’ve trained and accomplished those as well) – there are highs and lows at every stage, but if you can stay positive (or try to keep a growth mindset), putting one foot in front of the other, you will make it – and make a difference. I think what sets me and my team/programs apart from others is the amount of heart (no pun intended), creativity, and enthusiasm we put into the work and critical thinking we do to help solve real problems that young children and their families are facing in our community. We serve over 2,000 children each year across our programs, and have the privilege of training, deploying, and supervising 200+ staff members who reflect the best of the best of our community’s educators, psychologists, and future leaders. We also are humbled to partner with over 100 community agencies to provide our program in places and spaces that are easy to access for families. To my team, this is so important, as access to high quality, best practice programs, is one of the biggest hurdles we face in mental health.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love Miami and when my best friend comes to town, I always like to show off it’s many flavors. Itinerary depends on the time of year they visit and if they come with kids! Let’s say it’s January with kids. We live in Coral Gables, so we would probably start close to home, taking a morning walk or bike ride to the Coral Gables Farmer’s market, followed by some walking/shopping down the mile, a stop at Books & Books, and lunch on Giralda (we love Threefold Café). Coffee in the afternoon is a must. So many great coffee spots in the city and depends on if you want cold brew (love Panther Coffee) or need a cortadito (Vicky Bakery). We would definitely plan a trip to the beach – we love going to Crandon Park as a family – the Everglades – love the tram tour through Shark Valley and an airboat ride – and the Zoo – those bikes you can rent to ride around the zoo are amazing. Around town, we love the new park at Pinecrest Gardens or a stroll through Fairchild Gardens. We also love visiting the Frost Science Museum and grabbing lunch at Verde at the Perez is lovely. Glass & Vine in Coconut Grove is a good place to grab a nice bite to eat while balancing parent life – there is a great park right next to it that the kids can play at while you visit. If we have some coverage for the kids, an evening in Wynwood, dinner at KYU, checking out J Wakefield, and the Walls is always fun. If we had a whole week, a trip down to The Keys might be in store.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family (especially my husband Jeff, my two amazing kids Charlie & Luke, and my Mom & Dad) and friends who are family (you know who you are) – my mentor (Dr. William Pelham) – my work family and team (past & current – you know who you are) – and all the incredible people and collaborators at the Center for Children and Families at FIU. Our summer teams, the families we serve, our community and school partners, and importantly our funders (particularly the ongoing support of The Children’s Trust & The Children’s Services Council of Broward County). It takes a village at every level. With tremendous gratitude and heart, I would not be here at this point if it wasn’t for you all. Thank you!

Website: https://readylab.fiu.edu/

Instagram: @fiuccf

Twitter: @schoolreadylab

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmag8O2qQ79bsxu9Ishay6w

Image Credits
Credit to the Center for Children and Families at FIU and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Education