Kathleen Brennan

Katie completed her BS at the Georgia Institute of Technology, MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and PhD from the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She has worked as Book Review and Managing Editor, Visiting Researcher, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow. She has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the US and Australia. She is excited about pursuing opportunities in new fields in which she can leverage her varied experience.

When she’s not working you will likely find her reading, knitting, or baking up some delicious treats!

When away from my desk I love to travel and make things with my hands. If you run into me at a work event then you will likely find me with a new, custom-made batch of caramels for the occasion. I also love to make baked goods for my friends and family, and I am particularly proud of my sourdough breads. In addition to all of the cooking, I've taken up knitting and paper-crafting to expand my repertoire.

Rose Cake - Funfetti cake, Strawberry Swiss Meringue buttercream, and modeling chocolate

Chocolate whoopie pies with marshmallow cream

Mini-Chocolate Gingerbread Houses, decorated with royal icing

Same cupcakes as above with a Vanilla Swiss Meringue buttercream

Hand embroidered forget-me-not wreath for my grandmother, in a box I made from scrapbooking paper

Christmas ornament macarons, filled with Swiss Meringue buttercream

Pumpkin spice macarons, hand painted, and filled with a pumpkin buttercream

Vegan, pomegranate and pistachio truffles

Boxes made from scrapbooking paper, decorated with hand cut stamps

Blueberry lilikoi shortbread bars with tangerine zest

Vegan and gluten free chocolate cupcakes, with candied pistachios and tofutti cream cheese frosting

Vegan lilikoi caramels with various puffed grains for texture

Assorted pastries using laminated dough: classic croissants, chocolate croissants, danish with cheese and jam

My sourdough starter, which I grew from the wild yeast in my mom's kitchen in 2014 and it's still going strong

Homemade funfetti cake batter - the inside of the rose cake at the top of the page.

Mango caramels. One bag has plain mango caramels, and the other has ones spiced with schichimi togarashi.

From a solo road trip through Europe. This is at a good friend's house in Croatia, with a mug from IPAM which hosted the program where we met.

One of my train rides to or from London while studying at LSE

One of the many sunsets I got to enjoy on Kaimana beach while completing my PhD in Hawai'i