Katherine Lawrence has been active in the Open Source community and software development from the early 1990s, and in Drupal since 2005. She has personally been responsible for the design, development, and launch of over 160 websites, virtually all of them for major corporations, foundations, or institutions of higher learning.

Fascinated by cybernetics, the man-machine interface, her early career was focused on process instrumentation and control logic, first at DuPont and later at Hewlett-Packard, where she applied HPs emerging desk top computers in the management of complex process control logic systems.

Her bench-chemistry research at DuPont and HP led to patented work in high polymers, poromers ("breathable" semi-permeable polymer systems), and biomedical products.

Her subsequent experience includes line management positions at American Bentley (acquired by Baxter International), Kanenka of Japan, and Ion Track (acquired by GE).

She also spent a number of years working in several Venture Capital (VC) start-ups funded by firms including Hambrecht & Quist, Alan Patricof, Charles River Ventures, and the 3i's.

She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington with a double-major in Chemistry and in History. Her post-baccalaureate studies have been in chemistry and life science at Shepherd College and upper division mathematics at UMASS, Boston. She completed all course requirements for her Master in History, ABT, from the University of Washington's Department of History and the Far Eastern and Slavic Institute. She holds an MBA from Harvard University where she focused on the Management of Technology with some course work at Harvard Law School.