Katharine Kreis Is Rethinking the Model of Sustainable Development

How the director of strategic initiatives and lead for nutrition innovation at PATH is working to improve human quality of life, but not at the expense of the natural environment.

By: Katie Zacarian, Speaker Ambassador at the 2018 Planetary Health Annual Meeting

I first met Katharine Kreis at the McEwan Hall, an impressive Italian Renaissance-style stone building in the center the University of Edinburgh campus. As we looked for a quiet place to sit, we ascended from floor to floor, mouths agape, in awe of the structure’s palatial atriums, dramatic staircases, and beautiful frescoes. The setting was a far cry from our home bases of Silicon Valley, where I work as a technologist, and Seattle, where Katharine works as the director of strategic and lead for nutrition innovation at PATH.

Katharine and I were paired up for the Planetary Health Alliance Speaker Ambassador program, an opportunity for students and leaders in the field of planetary health to connect one-on-one and learn from one another during the Planetary Health Annual Meeting.

Her extensive experience in global health and international development spans several prestigious thought-leading organizations, including:

• Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

She was asked to speak at the meeting during a session entitled “New Ideas in Planetary Health,” an area for which PATH is well known. From pasta disguised as rice kernels and boosted with extra nutrients to a heat-stable dispersible tablet against Newcastle disease, PATH scientists and engineers develop vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics and devices aimed at improving the health and livelihoods of the world’s poorest people. While many development organizations focus on scaling up proven interventions, the self-described “41-year old start-up” is interested not only in developing new products, but also in creating new models and cross-sectoral partnerships to implement their use. “I’m very bullish on engaging with next-generation thinkers,” Katharine explained.

Preparing for Sustainable Development

Complex challenges often require root-cause analysis and new approaches, which is where Katharine and PATH come in. Sipping our coffees that early Scottish morning, Katharine shared a story about her most recent trip to Western Uganda, where the government has approved oil drilling in the Lake Albert area. The Wildlife Conservation Society, the Uganda Biodiversity Fund, and USAID assembled a multisectoral team to help the government think about how they can prepare for sustainable development in light of the area’s environmental sensitivities.

Lake Albert is home to rich biodiversity, including many fish species and migratory birds, fueling a robust tourist industry while also providing natural resources for local populations. With oil and secondary economy jobs looming on the horizon, many thousands of newcomers have been moving to a region with bright prospects for gainful employment, creating tremendous pressure on its infrastructure. There are issues of land tenure, access to quality water, sanitation, and food.

The task at hand, Katharine explained, is trying to think in a very proactive and cross disciplinary way to help civil society, the private sector and the government mitigate some of these development issues before they become a huge problem for the people who are hoping to get oil related jobs with an approach that has a low environmental footprint and that will improve the health and development outcomes.

Employing a Multisectoral Approach

In reference to her experience in Uganda, Katharine described the thinking underpinning this perspective: “Conservation has really everything to do with people. The things that are driving unsustainable use of natural resources are all related to human issues, such as health, poverty, hunger.” Further, she explained that when we look only within one sector, we run the risk of not recognizing that people and the planet are integrally linked, and our development programs should take that into consideration: “What will this do for the health and well-being of people, and what will this do for the health and well-being of the planet?” It was this holistic cross-sectoral approach which led to the development of the Bridge Collaborative, a partnership spearheaded by PATH in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy, Duke University, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Katharine’s stint with the Peace Corps had the most lasting impact on her thinking about development and career trajectory. Between finishing her Bachelor of Science degree in biology and physiology from Dickinson College and pursuing a Master of Public Health dual degree in international health and epidemiology, Katharine lived in the Marshall Islands where she focused on health care. Reflecting on the experience, she noted how the work imparted a strong belief in the value of creative thinking and the importance of local support and collaboration. “It’s not just about money or a good idea, it’s about how you get people to buy into that idea and to want … to make something happen,” she said.

Rethinking the Model

We finished our coffee and ventured downstairs to the domed conference hall to listen to the opening keynotes. We leaned forward in our pews to listen to François Paulette, a Dënesųłiné Elder, deliver an impassioned speech. He described how human actions have threatened water and food security in his home in Canada.

“We can no longer say climate change, we must say climate crisis,” he said. “There is lots of talk, but very little action. This is where you and traditional people can work together to make the changes in the world. We have to impact the governments to change their thinking. We need research. We need a good database. And this is where we can work together.”

This message stuck with Katharine. Weeks later, when we spoke about the conference, she reflected, “We need to move on from defining the problem into defining the solution set. This concept of planetary health … how do we move forward in a way that we still improve human quality of life without the expense of the natural environment? That’s the next stage, that’s the issue of our time, you know, rethinking the model in a more holistic way.”

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Planetary Health Alliance or its members.