Katie Thomas is a passionate mentor and advocate for student success. 

Katie brings more than 20 years of real-world experience into the classroom as a lecturer in the Department of Communication at The Ohio State University. 

Katie is currently serving as the Senior Manager of Population Health Marketing at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Senior Manager of Content and Educational Partnerships at The Kids Mental Health Foundation. Katie leads marketing and communication for two strategic plan accelerators: behavioral and population health. Her work also includes overseeing products, content, and national partnerships for The Kids Mental Health Foundation, the nation’s leading organization providing free mental health resources for all adults with youth in their lives. Formerly called On Our Sleeves, the Foundation has reached millions with impactful resources to help kids before a crisis or concern arises. 

Katie holds a Master of Arts from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Otterbein University, where she majored in journalism and public relations. She is Accredited in Public Relations (APR). She has received numerous honors, including Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) Hall of Fame, the Tom Poling Practitioner of the Year award, the Walt Seifert Award for Outstanding Service to Central Ohio PRSA, and Columbus Business First's 40 Under 40.

Katie also serves as the National Professional Adviser for PRSSA and a mentor for students locally through Ohio State’s PRSSA Mentor Program and nationally through PRSSA.

Katie is also a certified Spinning® instructor and a proud member of the Harmony Project.