Kat's Bio:

Katrina "Kat" Hobbs Everett was born and raised in Haverhill, MA. She is the daughter of the late Bishop Franklin W. Hobbs and Co-Pastor Carolyn R. Hobbs, and one of their 13 children (11 living).  With 6 sisters, and 4 brothers she is the 10th child born to the Hobbs’ in their 64 years of marriage. Kat is a wife, mother, and entrepreneur. She is happily married to the love of her life, and business partner, Dennis Everett Jr. Together they have a beautiful, blended family of 7 children.

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Kat attended Haverhill public schools including Walnut Square, Smiley School, J.G. Whittier, Whittier Voc. Tech, and Haverhill High, graduating from Haverhill High class of 1999.  Following high school Kat attended Northern Essex Community College, graduating with high honors, and receiving 7 academic leadership awards. Kat obtained her AS in Human Services, with a Drug and Alcohol Abuse Counseling Certificate and leadership concentration from Northern Essex Community College. During her time at NECC Kat was a student presidential ambassador, involved in student government as a member of student council, and was heavily involved in campus leadership and public speaking. Katrina finished her schooling at UMass Boston’s College of Public and Community Service on a full boat Foster Furcolo Scholarship, obtained through NECC. She graduated from UMass Boston Magna Cum Laude with induction into the International Golden Key Honors Society, majoring in Human Services with a Youth Work concentration. She was one of the first 2 students to ever complete the traditional UMASS Honors Program while completing regular studies through CPCS and was awarded a medal for this endeavor. Kat earned her Masters degree in Education (M.Ed.) from Merrimack College where she attended on scholarship as the community engagement fellow for the Interdisciplinary Institute where she participated in leading campus-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Katrina graduated with a 3.97 GPA and as an inductee to the Alpha Iota Sigma International Interdisciplinary Honor Society. Kat was also a member of the Graduate Students of Color Association.  

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From 2010 - 2022 Kat was the Co-Founder of Power of Self-Education (POSE) Inc. POSE’s mission was to “Inspire individuals and mobilize resources to strengthen communities”.  As a community engagement and advocacy organization, POSE provided unique learning opportunities, and implemented a broad range of tailored services for community members, groups, churches, and individuals. POSE led several social and civic engagement movements and centered around cross-sectoral collaborative initiatives and community mobilizing.  

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Kat is a small business owner running a b2b consulting firm focused on providing large- and small-scale consulting, coaching and facilitation services to assist with transformative culture shifting in an effort to foster places of belonging. She is the founder and curator of COCO Brown, a cultural community healing center and co-working space in Haverhill that uses the mediums of art, music, storytelling, and movement to strengthen community relationships and improve racial, social, environmental, and economic equity. EforAll Merrimack Valley is a current co-working member utilizing the space. 

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Kat is also an educator, teaching as an Adjunct Instructor at Merrimack College. She has 25 years of refined experience in the human/social services field working in a variety of professional settings and levels including grassroots organizations, city, state, and federal entities, public k-12 schools, public and private sectors, and higher education institutions. Kat has 11 years of diversity, equity, inclusion education experience cultivating and working with cross-sector teams locally, nationally, and globally. Kat's areas of expertise are self-reflective practices, trauma informed practices, addictions and recovery, mental health, family and community engagement, youth work, social justice education, training, inclusion and connectivity. Kat is skilled in innovative approaches and transformative interdisciplinary pedagogy. Her personal mission is to “Constantly Cultivate Community”.

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Affiliations / Civic Engagement / Board Involvement

• Massachusetts Department of Children and Families -Haverhill Area Board Member (2021 - current) 

• Eammon's Heart-Board Member (2021 - current) 

• The Weitzman Initiative for the Arts and Industry Board Member (2021 - current)

• HP3 - Haverhill Public-Private Partnership steering group (2018 - current)• Ma.GL. 222 Coalition- Massachusetts statewide coalition (2017 - current)

• HC Media -Board Member (2020 - 2023) 

• LEADS (Leaders Engaged and Activated to Drive System-wide change) (2020) Haverhill Cohort 
• City of Haverhill Mayoral Diversity Task Force (2020)
• Alpha Iota Sigma National Interdisciplinary Honor Society (2020)
• Andover Bread Loaf Teacher's Network (2018)
• Massachusetts Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence: Public Awareness Campaign (2018 - 2022)
• Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Essex County Committee; Annie E. Casey Foundation (2017 - current)
• Haverhill Education Coalition (HEC) (2017-2020)

• City of Haverhill Mayor’s Gang & Youth Violence Prevention Advisory Committee (2017 - 2020)

• SartingBloc Social Innovation Fellow (2016)

• City of Haverhill’s Council on Youth Needs- Chair (2016 - 2019)
• Haverhill Public School’s Wellness Committee (2016 - 2018)

• Merrimack Valley Homeless Youth Adult Consortium (2016 - 2017)

• Mt. Washington Alliance Governance Committee (2015 - 2019) Working Cities Challenge Initiative 

• City of Haverhill’s H.O.P.E. Task force (2015 - 2019)

• Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative- Steering Committee member (2015 - 2018)
• City of Haverhill Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG) (2015 - 2016)
• Communities Together (Lawrence) board member (2014 – 2017)

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Awards

• Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award (2023) Calvary Baptist Church

• Belonging Award (2022) Waystone Health & Human Services 

• Nonprofit of the Year for COCO Brown (2019) Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce

• Service Recognition Award from CMPD (2018) Cambiando el Mundo de personas con discapacidad

• Women of the Year inductee YWCA (2017)

• Commonwealth of Virginia for: African Refugee and Immigrant Awareness Week. (2009)

• Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for exemplary service in responding to the devastation of HIV/AIDS in communities of color in Boston. (2004) 
   

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