Kate Watson holds a PhD in Social Welfare and an MSW from UCLA. She studies childhood trauma, and trauma-informed and healing organizations using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. 

Kate Watson is a Reiss-Davis Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow at Vista del Mar Child & Family Services in Los Angeles, CA. There, she provides psychotherapy for children and their families. A recent PhD graduate in Social Welfare from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, she is also continuing her research on childhood trauma and trauma-informed and healing organizations using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Settings of interest include child welfare, nonprofits, and schools.

Kate earned a Master of Social Welfare (MSW) with a concentration in Social and Economic Justice from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from American University in Washington, D.C. A passionate advocate for children and youth, Kate has served on the boards of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley and the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, as chair of the LAJCC Foundation, and as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for multiple foster youth.

In her spare time, Kate enjoys traveling, hiking, biking along the beach, and reading everything she can get her hands on. She lives with her husband, Brian; cat, Remy; dog, Dash; and often a foster dog or two in West Los Angeles.