Kat is fascinated by the intersection of technology and psychology. She is actively engaged in designing and testing systems to facilitate positive behavior change in a variety of populations. She co-founded ilumivu in 2009 (ilumivu.com) to provide software systems to researchers and clinicians to capture human data and deliver just-in-time interventions.

She spent 15 years working with over 900 families with children with autism on four continents. She earned a PhD in Psychology designing, delivering and testing autism parent training programs for underserved communities including those in the Bronx, NY, Argentina and Poland. Ilumivu's first software service was for parents of children with autism to track symptom change and treatment use in an online HIPAA compliant, sharable platform.

Since then ilumivu has provided web, mobile and wearable systems to researchers and clinicians working with a wide range of populations including substance abuse, suicide, anxiety and depression. They are committed to finding innovative and effective ways to use everyday technology to improve the daily life experience of the millions of people who suffer with mental health issues.

Kat is also very engaged in local environmental activism bringing Community Rights and the Rights of Nature to the City of Asheville through a nonprofit she co-founded, Community Roots (cmroots.com). She also leads wilderness Rites of Passage ceremonies to help people through challenging times.

Links to media appearances (podcasts, TV, articles, etc.): TedX - The Rights of Nature: Revolutionizing our Relationship with the More-than-Human World.

https://www.ted.com/talks/kat_houghton_the_rights_of_nature