Meet Kathryn
Kathryn and her husband Shomo De (Soumya) moved to Natick in 2003 from Arlington, Virginia, where she was working on her doctoral degree in Islamic History at Georgetown University, specializing in comparative law. She holds a BA in History from Berea College and a MA in History from Georgetown University. Her mother-in-law, Dr. Shipra De, joined them and their two dogs, Muddy and Truman, from Kolkata in 2019. Though she was born in Cambridge, MA, Kathryn was raised in Florida and has lived, traveled, taught and worked in the Middle East and North Africa.
Natick Select Board
Kathryn was elected to the Natick Select Board in 2022, where she currently serves as the Chair. During her time on the Board, she has worked to increase fiscal transparency, expand affordable housing, support local businesses--large and small, and conduct a comprehensive review of all Select Board policies. In the context of the pending override vote, Kathryn has gathered all of the suggestions, requests, and ideas sent to the Board about improving financial transparencies and processes for budget development and is working with the Select Board to determine what commitments the Select Board and the School Committee should make to the residents and voters.Public Service
Kathryn completed her doctoral exams in Islamic history specializing in Islamic law and marriage but abandoned her dissertation for active public service in 2001, after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. She served on the Natick Zoning Board of Appeals for over five years, the Natick Affordable Housing Trust for two years, and on Town Meeting, as well as used her fundraising experience to raise money for local non-profits.
In addition, Kathryn has consulted pro bono with local non-profits, educational institutions, and refugee immigration attorneys on social and political issues in the global Muslim world. She also consulted with law firms who do pro bono work for refugees from the global Muslim world, offering research and background on local Islamic law on LGBTQ issues, domestic violence, polygamy, female genital mutilation.
Kathryn has taught, lectured and/or delivered papers in the Middle East, North America, Europe and Asia on a wide range of subjects including religion and gender; Islamic law; religion and modernity; and US foreign policy and the Middle East. As recipient of over 25 academic grants and fellowships, including the prestigious Congressional Harry S. Truman Graduate Fellowship for Public Service, her research has been supported by American and international foundations including the Social Science Research Council and the Arbeitskreis Moderne Und Islam (Germany).
Small Business Experience
After ten years in executive administration at Harvard, Kathryn purchased Sherborn Wine & Spirits, a small store specializing in curated wine offerings, craft beers and small batch spirits in 2017 and sold it in 2021. This was her first experience outside academia or the world of non-profits. During four years of ownership, she increased gross revenue by 72%, doubled retained earnings, and increased enterprise value by 51%.
The store became a community resource, donating to and supporting the town's non-profits; each year, the store donated between 3-5% of gross profits to area non-profits.
Hobbies
In her spare time, Kathryn enjoys hiking, travel, reading (especially history), cooking, playing with her two dogs, watching birds (not quite experienced to call herself a "birdwatcher"), volunteering, and 9 mm handgun target practice.
