About Our Founder

Katherine is a third-year medical student who originally started The Healing Hair Initiative in 2010, inspired by her own experience being hospitalized in a pediatric ward. For her, it’s deeply personal. She firsthand experienced the distress of nearly losing hair due to severe tangling while in the hospital. She also witnessed several children on her ward losing their hair from matting because they lacked access to the necessary hair care tools and products.

Motivated by this, Katherine began collecting hair care products and tools, partnering with Child Life specialists to create kits containing conditioner, brushes, detangler, and other essential items. She would personally bring these kits to be distributed by staff to the children still on the ward who needed them.

To her knowledge, this was one of the first programs in the country addressing this very real but often overlooked need for hospitalized children and their families.

Now, as a student doctor herself, Katherine aims to be not only an excellent future doctor but also a passionate advocate for all aspects of her patients’ health and wellbeing. With that aim, she remains committed to expanding access to these essential hair care tools. She strives to address not only the medical needs of her patients but also their holistic needs, ensuring that the children she treats have the resources and support—from Child Life specialists, nursing staff, and families—to care for their hair with dignity and comfort.