Katie Baric was born in Cary, North Carolina. She has a Masters in Public Health with a specialization in global health and community health from the University of Pittsburgh and an undergraduate degree in human biology from North Carolina State University. She is fluent in English & Spanish.
“I have always had a heart for mission trips and helping the poor. At age 12 in 2005, I made my first trip down to Nueva Palestina, Honduras with my church St. Michael and have returned 7 times since then. We have worked for 15 years to provide water filters, latrines, housing, scholarships for students and medical aid to the town of Nueva Palestina as well as surrounding villages. In 2010, St. Michael’s collaborated with NC State, to bring sustainable agriculture to the village through the program Proyecta Promesa. These projects opened my eyes to what sustainable community development truly means. I concentrated on our work in Honduras for my Master’s Thesis, titled : An overview of multidimensional poverty in Honduras: gaps, barriers, and solutions. I have also traveled to Uganda, Africa with the organization Embrace Uganda in the summer of 2009”.
“I was first introduced to the wonders of Peru in June of 2013 as a medical volunteer, and have since discovered a true calling back to this beautiful country, recognizing the power and potential of international volunteers, as well as my own potential to influence and improve global health”. In May of 2016 at age 24, I moved to Peru to dedicate my career to Hands on Peru, and to inaugurate CESAPU - Centro de Salud Pública in December of 2016. With this new project, our impact is even greater and our public health programs have reached an extremely needy population who would otherwise have no access to such preventative health services. Every single day we work hard so that our project promotes sustainable community development and public health projects that bring joy to every person who passes through our front door. It is a very rewarding experience and I am so thankful that God has blessed me with the opportunity to truly make a positive difference in the world and help the poorest of the poor.”
In 2018 Katie was a semifinalist for the national prize Protagonists of Change by Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas UPC in Lima, Peru.
MPH