A Mississippi native and graduate of the Honors College at Southern Miss, Kathleen Koch covered the White House, Capitol Hill and Pentagon, as well as almost every disaster imaginable during her 18 years as a correspondent at CNN.

She is the author of "Rising from Katrina: How My Mississippi Hometown Lost It All and Found What Mattered" and her two documentaries on Bay St. Louis’s recovery earned her a Peabody Award.

In 2018, she was named to the Southern Miss Alumni Hall of Fame, and she currently serves on the USM School of Mass Communications and Journalism Advisory Board. At Forum, Koch will speak about her experiences as a journalist and the importance of persistence and listening to your inner voice in making a meaningful difference in the world.