Katherine Cheng

Katherine is a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab, having earned her Ph.D. in public policy and management from the University of Washington. She is motivated to help organizations develop policies that meet people where they’re at, addressing their most pressing constraints and priorities. Her research therefore focuses on co-governance, with an emphasis on how governments collaborate with communities to build policies grounded in their lived experience. To do this, Katherine primarily uses mixed methods, combining qualitative and quantitative data to identify broad trends and the why behind them.

Prior to her time at UC Berkeley, Katherine studied how local governments across the U.S. are building their capacity for community engagement, such as new systems for communication and staff skill-building. She also supported research across Washington State, including collaborative ecosystem partnerships in Puget Sound and community assemblies to advance environmental justice. 

Katherine holds an M.S. in agricultural and resource economics from UC Davis and a B.A. in economics and international affairs from the University of Georgia. Outside of work, she loves cooking with friends and bicycling around the Bay Area in search of pastries.