Kathleen graduated from Carroll College, and after teaching for several years in Spokane and Seattle, earned a law degree from the University of Washington. Starting in 1980, she worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Billings, Montana.

In 1990, Gov. Stan Stephens appointed her Coordinator of Indian Affairs, a post to which Gov. Marc Racicot reappointed her in 1992. In 1996, Kathy accepted a position in Chicago as the Director of Native American Ministries for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She later returned to Montana to serve as the Tribal Attorney for the Blackfeet Nation in Browning.