Katrina is proud to call North Dakota home.

North Dakota is where she loves to raise her beautiful family and works to build a better future for them.

Katrina has rural roots. She graduated high school as valedictorian in Pender, a town of 1,200 people in northeast Nebraska. Katrina attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating with a degree in Biological Systems Engineering.

Katrina is passionate about agriculture and energy, North Dakota's largest economic sectors. Katrina completed a Master's degree in 2006 that focused on value added processing for sorghum (milo).

Katrina is disciplined and tenacious. She completed a PhD program in Agricultural Engineering in 2011 that studied the costs and benefits of different biofuel production methods at Iowa State University. 

Christiansen, K., Raman, D. R., Hu, G., & Anex, R. (2018). First-order estimates of the costs, input-output energy analysis, and energy returns on investment of conventional and emerging biofuels feedstocks. Biofuel Research Journal, 5(4), 894-899.

Katrina has real world experience as a real problem solver. Katrina worked as a plant engineer at an ethanol plant for two years. Katrina has worked for a large agricultural processor as a researcher and innovator where she earned two patents.

Katrina is an innovative thinker. She has experience with start-ups, she worked for a Fargo startup focused on developing innovative equipment for craft maltsters with a third patented technology.

Katrina takes an idea and can see it through execution.

Katrina now teaches others to think like an engineer.

Katrina is a critical thinker and communicator. Katrina currently works in higher education where she teaches students to ask questions and think critically..

Katrina sees a future where anyone who wants to go to college should be able to. She believes in her students' potential and wants them to succeed in North Dakota. Katrina wants more meaningful, well paying jobs for all North Dakotans.

Katrina will be an effective advocate and problem solver in D.C. for all North Dakotans.