Dr. Katherine Wheatle has been advocating for student voices and campus-wide communities long before she entered the workforce.

Born of Jamaican immigrants and native to New Jersey, she was the first in her family to attend college when she first stepped foot onto campus in 2003. Despite being a first-generation student, her time at Penn State shaped her into the advocate she is today—one who’s dedicated her career to making higher education more equitable.

Now, after years spent in health policy, higher education, and philanthropy, Wheatle is hoping to bring her lived experiences and professional insight back to her alma mater in a leadership role. She’s stepping forward to serve the institution that helped shape her—and one she believes must evolve to better support today’s students.

“When I was at Penn State as a Black student at a predominantly white institution, it was a very different experience for me,” Wheatle said. “Being at a really large institution, it was a culture shock that then impacted my academic performance… But the community that I had around me and the student support resources really leaned in.”

Wheatle enrolled at Penn State in 2003, majoring in African and Latin American studies with minors in sociology and health policy administration. She was a Bunton-Waller and Ronald E. McNair Scholar, a Pell Grant recipient, and part of a tight-knit community in Pennypacker Hall, made up of low-income and first-generation students of color.

Although she faced some adversity while on campus, Wheatle believes that those roadblocks are what helped shape her future career for years to come.

“I think having that challenge in my first year definitely pushed the trajectory of my remaining years at Penn State to completion,” she said. “That impacted what I would eventually do professionally — working in higher education, doing research on advocacy and policy about college students of all ages, races, ethnicities, parental status, succeeding, and getting the degree that they feel is necessary for them for their own social mobility.”

As an undergrad, Wheatle immersed herself in campus life by wearing many hats. She was an executive board member of the Penn State NAACP chapter, a member of the Caribbean Student Association, the student relations co-chair for the 2008 senior class gift committee, a sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and was heavily involved in what is now known as BLUEprint, a program supporting underrepresented students.

“When I think about my involvement on campus, so many of those things are in direct attack,” she shared. “So many of those things, frankly, are misunderstood in what their resources are and what those programs are, and I am a product of Pell Grants and public resources that help people increase their social mobility… I just wouldn’t have been able to thrive or survive without community, and my hope is that people start to see that it’s OK, that there’s a positive community that sees all of us and values all of us. We’re all part of this Penn State ecosystem, but it doesn’t always feel that way.”

After graduating, Wheatle pursued her master’s in health policy and health services research from Emory University and her Ph.D. in higher education from Indiana University. Along the way, she explored the intersection of student wellness and policy, focusing on how students access mental health resources and build stress management skills in college.

” I actually received my master’s in Health Policy and Health Services Research from Emory University, and my Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University.

“I was very interested — even then — in how students were using mental health services… Are students well on campus? And how do we define well?” she said. “That led me to student affairs, and ultimately to research, policy, and philanthropy.”

Her professional journey took her from student-facing work to systems-level change. She’s worked in Washington, D.C. at nonprofits, in education philanthropy at the Lumina Foundation, and most recently at William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where she led racial equity research-policy initiatives.

“In that work, I got to continue to support student voice,” she said. “I started that role in 2018 and since then, I have continued to work in philanthropy, more directly in racial equity and justice… And now here we are in this moment in time. There’s a lot of direct challenge, there’s a lot of meltdown, there’s a lot of uncertainty. And I say, what a time to be as prepared as I am to help navigate our beloved institution through a time that we’ve never seen before.”

Her campaign for trustee is grounded in a simple idea: that community is a powerful force for transformation and that student voices matter more than ever.

“Organizing together creates coalition, fosters creativity. It gives a sense of belonging,” she said. “You can share your heartbreaks together and also strategize what happens next together.”

Wheatle says Penn State can’t afford to ignore the changing face of higher education or the needs of a more diverse and multifaceted student population.

“It’s not just the traditional age 18- to 22-year-old,” she said. “We know now in 2025 that the population is shrinking, and that’s going to mean a lot of different things for different universities and how they consider enrollment.”

Wheatle, alongside Uma Moriarity and Daniel Zahn, is ticketed with Penn State Forward, which champions young, diverse, forward-thinking alumni to run for the Board of Trustees.

“[Penn State Forward] aligns with how I’ve studied. They align with how I’ve advocated and supported advocacy,” Wheatle said. “And to the crux of it all, again, is coalition and community building. We cannot go alone… The future of Penn State is happening right now. That’s all I keep coming back to.”

Through her line of work and time as a Penn State student during the 21st century, Wheatle understands the needs of current students on a deeper level.

“I have this wealth of professional experience, these networks in nonprofit, philanthropic, policy, university spaces… But my lived experience, coupled with all those things, makes me empathetic to the experiences of students right now, to the experiences of staff right now.”

Her vision for Penn State isn’t just one of preserving tradition. It’s about building a university that earns every “We Are” and continues to push for a bright future of impactful education and experiences.

“I think what I would love to see is Penn State holding its grounds and its integrity of its mission, and if I could in some way as a board member, see that through the next few years, the institution has its ground to protect,” Wheatle expressed. “It’s OK to start to expand our communities, and that’s what this really takes, is an expansion of community and more trust building across communities. I am uniquely prepared for the fight. So, I bring myself, but also bring women, supporters, teachers, educators, willing people to fortify our community.”

Wheatle’s campaign for a seat on the board is driven by the belief that Penn State must do more to support its increasingly diverse student body. She hopes to bring a student-centered perspective to the board — one that not only values academic prestige but also prioritizes well-being, access, and support.

“We’re at a point in higher ed where we can’t just talk about inclusion, we have to act on it,” she said. “That means thinking critically about affordability, representation, and the student experience.”

---

Editor’s note: Wheatle’s interview is one of a multi-part series aiming to feature alumni running for open seats on the Board of Trustees. Onward State does not, and will not, endorse any candidate(s) in this election. Check out our site to read more about the remaining candidates vying for spots on the board throughout this year’s election cycle.