Katherine Oh Yeaple, who’s currently filling a vacant seat on the State College Borough Council, announced Wednesday she’ll officially run for the position in this year’s election.

Yeaple joined the council back in September to serve the remaining term of former Councilman Dan Murphy, who resigned in August. She is a registered Democrat.

“I am running for Borough Council to bring a fresh perspective and an open mind for addressing the critical matters of our time,” Yeaple said in a statement Wednesday.

Yeaple, a nurse, currently works as in infection control at Penn State, holds a master’s degree in urban planning, and previously worked for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Amtrak. In her free time, she volunteers for Remote Area Medical and the Palmer Museum of Art.

In her statement, Yeaple said she joined the council “during challenging times” amid the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the local economy, jobs, and the borough’s budget. If elected, she said she hopes to work with the council to place a larger emphasis on public health, possibly by creating a “public health office.”

“While the budget situation will remain difficult, I believe as a community nurse that we need more public health investment,” Yeaple said. “The need for such investment is underscored by the inadequate testing and chaotic vaccine distribution that we witnessed over the last year.”

Three council seats are up for election in 2021. Current members Evan Myers and Theresa Lafer are term-limited and unable to run this fall. Yeaple holds the third seat up for eelection.

Last week, Mayor Ron Filippelli and former Councilwoman Cathy Dauler announced they’ll both run on the Democratic ticket for borough council in May’s primary.

Filippelli, whose term as interim mayor ends in 2021, previously served two terms on the council. Dauler, meanwhile, as served four total terms.

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StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.