“The perfect blend” is how Kathryn “Katie” Popp ’00 describes her job. As the team lead for the Best Companies Project at Great Place to Work® Institute, Popp works for a mission-driven organization, employing her management skills and scientific thinking for the betterment of society. The ingredients of the blend began during her years at Southwestern University.

Popp grew up in College Station, Texas, with a Texas A&M professor for a father. For her own college experience, she hoped for one-on-one attention rather than being one person in an enormous school. She visited Southwestern at a friend’s recommendation and “fell in love with its size and the essence of community.” During her college years, she enjoyed studying a wide variety of subjects and participating in many opportunities and activities. Eventually, she chose psychology as her major because she enjoyed thinking scientifically and conducting research. Not being interested in the corporate world or graduate school, Popp joined AmeriCorps when she graduated and worked with Habitat for Humanity in San Francisco.

Both her leadership experience and passion for service took root at Southwestern, where Popp learned how to delegate and to be honest and open in communicating with people. A series of experiences helped shape her life and career: designing and conducting surveys with Professor Traci Giuliano, learning how to be employee-oriented in Associate Professor Bob Bednar’s organizational communication class, and simply having so many opportunities to work with others as a team and be led by others, not to mention the personal relationships that were possible with Dr. Giuliano and others. She learned to practice a model of collaborative leadership, which had a huge impact on how she manages her team today. Her college experience with Student Foundation and APO helped develop her interest in service.

Today, Popp’s job is the culmination of her interests and skills, marrying scientific research with the desire to do good. By recognizing the best companies, her team at Great Place to Work® shows the importance of treating employees well, and thus encourages other companies to strive for being employee-oriented. She too follows that philosophy on a daily basis by striving to be a good leader herself.