Kate Kerbel is a Senior Design Strategist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL). APL’s Design Thinking Group is a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, designers, and makers applying human centered design methodologies toward tackling national security challenges. In her role, Kerbel utilizes quantitative and qualitative data to design impactful solutions and believes that empathy, humility, and storytelling are integral skills for developing innovative user-focused solutions.

To pursue her interest in the intersection between users and their physical environments, Kerbel attended Cornell University and received her Masters of Architecture. Her graduate school thesis focused on how to contextually design spaces to address specific needs of populations. Through her professional endeavors, she has continued to study how qualities of built environments affect the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals. Kerbel also has a Bachelors of Science in Engineering Science from Vanderbilt University.