Spring 2021 Alumni Spotlight

Katrina High spent nearly 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry with over 10 years in leadership roles at Merck and GSK.  In 2018 she co-founded Artemis Factor, an all female owned boutique Project Management delivery firm.  All of the founders share a common goal; to improve patient lives one project at a time leveraging their combined deep pharmaceutical expertise to drive multi-level projects to completion for the customers they serve. 

The pharmaceutical industry has undergone immense pressure particularly in 2020 with the racial injustice movement and the uncertainty of vaccine rollouts within American communities.  In 2020, a consortium of pharmaceutical and biotech companies based in Philadelphia made a public statement indicating their “commitment to racial equality within their organizations”.  Now Katrina works with her clients to make this statement a reality – through an MLK Day of Service event and lab tours for young children to witness STEM careers.  She is deeply passionate and dedicated to supporting organizations that champion causes that have impacted her life like Philadelphia Futures and Women of Color in Pharma (WOCIP).  WOCIP’s mission is to empower women of color in pharma and the life sciences to excel in their personal and professional development and to transform their pathway and the pathway of others.  Philadelphia Futures helps first-generation low-income students with access and success in college and beyond. As a Philadelphia Future’s alumna, Katrina can attest first-hand that Futures works.  She has learned over her career that “where you start and how you start is not a determinant of how you will finish. Careers in any field are achievable with a little help and hard work.”  

Serving on the board of these two organizations allows Katrina to fulfill her aspirations of educating communities of color about science and helping kids from underprivileged backgrounds get to college and know that careers in STEM are possible.