Katie Bowler Young has 20 years of experience in higher education leadership in partnerships, programs, and communications, including extensive experience shaping infrastructure, processes and teams that drive results. As an operations director, Ms. Young helps shape the strategic framework that will guide the next stage of growth for university collaborations at RTI. Her focus is on advancing RTI strategy, stature, and financial growth. She is responsible for ensuring that the infrastructure, technology, and people are in place to achieve university collaboration goals. Ms. Young is building upon the team’s successes to advance activities aligned with RTI business needs. Additionally, she is leading a University Collaboration Office digital transformation.
Ms. Young joined RTI in 2022. She has forged and strengthened strategic bilateral and multilateral university partnerships on six continents over the course of her career. She was previously overseeing Communications, Marketing, and Business Development at Duke University School of Nursing. Prior, she led global relations, partnerships, and programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There she managed a complex web of international strategic partnerships and consortia, oversaw the development and renewal of articulation agreements, helped to attract more than $21.5 million to support global education and research, and served as head of global communications and events for UNC Global. She oversaw the development and management of the UNC Global website.
Ms. Young was awarded a 2021 North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Government Service for her work to secure global education at UNC-Chapel Hill during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Young has been awarded a Fulbright-Nehru International Educator Administrator award to deepen partnerships with academic institutions in India. She is the author of three books, including a biography of sculptor Enrique Alférez and two books of poetry: Through Water with Ease and State Street. She has been a reviewer for the Carolina Quarterly and frequently speaks on topics including international education, arts and community relations, and virtual education. Ms. Young is a visiting scholar at the UNC Institute for the Study of the Americas.
