Building Healthier Communities:
Public Health in Action As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, the diversified and far-reaching field of public health becomes ever more vital. Garrison Forest School alumnae are fully engaged and making important contributions ensuring the well-being of our communities. As scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, mental health specialists, educators, environmentalists, policy experts, medical professionals and more, they are using their skills and compassion to impact the world.
Complex Problems, Simple Solutions: Katherine Paseman ’14 and Fix the Mask When presented with a challenge, Katherine Paseman ’14 combines her science and engineering background with her natural curiosity to find a solution. It’s an approach that she honed during her time at Garrison Forest School, where she conducted research in the Johns Hopkins’ Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design as part of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program and worked with Roominate, a Silicon Valley start-up, as her Independent Senior Project (ISP). After GFS, Katherine graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from MIT and worked at other start-ups, adding more technical skills and an entrepreneurial drive to her problemsolving mindset. In 2020, when COVID-19 struck, Katherine and her sister Sabrina, who is also a mechanical engineer, found themselves drawn to what has become one of the biggest topics of conversation as the world battles the pandemic: masks. After observing the many questions and misinformation surrounding proper mask selection and use, they wanted to design a mask solution that was comfortable, effective, affordable and accessible to everyone. Their idea turned into a prototype of a brace that fits over surgical masks to create a better and more comfortable seal, and Fix the Mask was born. Katherine found herself applying every
GARRISON FOREST SCHOOL 2021
Katherine Paseman ’14 wearing a Fix the Mask brace
skill set she’d developed—and adding a few more—in her new role as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. “Our goal was to fight misinformation around COVID and to provide data-backed solutions to help people make decisions,” Katherine said. “We needed to approach researchers, pitch ideas and manage relationships. In a very short amount of time, we learned a lot about masks, manufacturing and business development.” In a crowded field of pandemic-related products, the knowledge needed to make this a successful venture went beyond the scientific know-how; they also needed to learn how to navigate approval and certification requirements, media outreach, research and development.
Of primary concern was ensuring their product was properly researched. They worked with research groups at several universities to test and vet their device with various types of masks. Katherine also recognized an opportunity and reached out to get current GFS students involved. Charlotte Ingram ’21 and Chloe Schnydman ’21 served as researchers on the GFS campus, working with Katherine to develop proper testing set-ups, data collection and documentation methods. Throughout the year, they tested theories about the relationship between light and filtration effectiveness and regularly reported their findings back to Katherine, who offered feedback and encouragement. In addition to providing valuable research back to Fix the Mask, involving GFS students was a way for Katherine to give back to the school and serve as a mentor for budding researchers. Because her WISE and ISP experiences were so formative to the entrepreneur and engineer she has become, her hope is to help current GFS students find that path for themselves as well. “My ISP changed the course of my life in a special way,” she said. “Being able to pay that experience forward is important to me.” She’s hoping to help students see the real-world implications of science and engineering research, an experience she
