Kate Wheelock

Kate Wheelock is Chief of the Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Response and Restoration. The DPP was created in November of 2017 to prepare NOAA staff and partners to respond to and recover from pollution events and natural disasters. Prior to leading the development and operations of this new program, Kate spent 15 years with the Office of Response and Restoration where she started in 2002 conducting natural resource damage assessments related to oil and chemical pollution and has held numerous positions in the office since, most recently several years as Chief of Staff. She has had various professional detail opportunities, including Arctic Policy Advisor to the NOAA Administrator and Senior Analyst to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Deepwater Drilling. 

Kate has her M.S. in Oceanography and Coastal Ecology from Louisiana State University, and M.B in Ocean Engineering from the University of Rhode Island. When she isn’t preparing for, responding to, or hot washing disasters, Kate is spending time outdoors, traveling, and raising her two sons, Declan and Jameson.