Kathryn Cyr is a communications officer for Ascend at the Aspen Institute. She focuses on public relations, executive communications, and championing the Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) initiative through strategic communications support.
Kathryn joined Ascend in 2024, blending a background in both communications and family wellbeing practice. She started her career in reputation and crisis management at PR agencies Burson and Hanover Communications in London, England, before running her own consultancy. In 2022, she pivoted into community mental health, acting as a Family Wellbeing Practitioner for underserved parents and children in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Originally from the DC area, Kathryn spent ten years in the UK, where she is now a dual citizen. She holds a BA in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies from Emory University, a master’s in Peace & Conflict Studies from the University of St Andrews, and an MSc in the Psychology of Mental Health from the University of Edinburgh. She served as an honorary research assistant at the University of Edinburgh, publishing research on the role of environmental factors on maternal and infant mental health.