Kate McDonough

B.S. University of Virginia

Kate McDonough has a background in development, engineering and ecological restoration. Today, Kate works to leverage real estate interventions to conserve land, restore watersheds, and enable returns for investors. 

In 2018, Kate began a career in conservation through a collaboration with the Duddington Farm in Maryland to conserve 386 acres and facilitate the restoration of Carroll Branch, a main tributary to the Loch Raven Reservoir. From 2021-2024, she worked on multiple billion-dollar development projects with Nancy J Kelley + Associates, contributing to sites such as the Cove JC (the first carbon-neutral development on the East Coast) and the adaptive reuse of a military facility for bio and climate tech. Kate also serves on the Advisory Board of Kyttaro Therapeutics, a spinout from apceth (a Hitachi company), which engineers mesenchymal stem cells to treat fatal diseases. 

Kate began her career as a bioengineer, earning her B.S. from the University of Virginia, where she was a Meriwether Lewis Fellow and a D1 Varsity Squash player. She is also an FAA-certified pilot.