Catherine is the Country Director, Kenya and Regional Convener for East Africa at CIFOR-ICRAF. She holds a PhD in Plant Ecophysiology from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya, under a split-site scholarship at Nottingham University, UK, an MSc in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, and a Bachelor of Education (Botany and Zoology) degree.

Catherine initially joined ICRAF in 2010 while on sabbatical from JKUAT. From there, she was recruited as a regular scientist under the Systems Theme. Prior to this, she was an Associate Professor at JKUAT and served for two terms as Chairperson of the Botany Department amongst other university roles. 

Catherine initially joined ICRAF in 2010 while on sabbatical from JKUAT. From there, she was recruited as a regular scientist under the Systems Theme. Prior to this, she was an Associate Professor at JKUAT and served for two terms as Chairperson of the Botany Department among other university roles. She has been engaged in design, implementation and management of several projects notably the Trees for Food Security (T4FS) project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) for which she serves as the Project Manager. Catherine was also the Leader of the ‘Trees Supporting Sustainable Intensification’ research cluster within the Livelihood Systems Flagship of the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). 

Catherine is a recipient of the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS), a Presidential Award, in recognition of her distinguished service to Kenya. She has served on several boards including the Kenya National Trading Cooperation and St Francis Girls High School Mang’u, and is the Director General’s representative on the Governing Council of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS). She also served as the Chair of ICRAF Staff Association from 2016 to 2019.