Katja is a 2022–23 Fulbright combined grantee conducting research while participating in cultural exchange and assisting in the education of English-language learners at the secondary level. She is conducting her research project, "Curricular Call and Response: The Future of Music Education in Vienna," in affiliation with the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (mdw).

Her master’s thesis at Boston University, “Affirmation, Awareness, and Action: Curriculum for Social Justice and Music Education,” advanced her engagement with curriculum design and its importance in addressing current cultural influences in the lives of our students. Researching 21st-century curriculum development inspired her to investigate how we have begun addressing diversity in music education at different levels and encouraged the desire for further cross-cultural investigation.

Katja graduated summa cum laude with a master of music in music education and graduate certificate in arts management from Boston University, where she was awarded a School of Music Departmental Award for her work as a music education graduate assistant. She received her bachelor of music in music education from the University of New Hampshire as well as New Hampshire and Massachusetts state licensure in K–12 music education before gaining experience as an educator and working directly with music students at all levels of schooling.