Cathy received her Juris Doctorate from UNC School of Law in 1987 and her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Atlantic Christian College. She has been a North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission Certified Superior Court Mediator for more than twenty years, limiting her mediation practice to the field of workers’ compensation.  Cathy is a member of NC State Bar and the Federal District Court Eastern District of North Carolina.

Cathy began her legal career in general legal practice including representing claimants before the North Carolina Industrial Commission and in state and federal courts.  She left full-time practice to spend more time on her most challenging and rewarding job, motherhood.  During the time her children were young, Cathy mediated workers’ compensation claims part-time allowing her to continue to develop her mediation skills while spending time with family.  Cathy returned to full-time practice in workers’ compensation, serving as Assistant Attorney General representing State agencies and universities in workers’ compensation claims before the NC Industrial Commission, NC Court of Appeals, and NC Supreme Court as well as representing the State in criminal appeals before the Court of Appeals.  In her role as Assistant Attorney General, she handled a vast variety of claims including injuries by accident, occupational diseases, death claims, and complex litigation. During this time, she participated in hundreds of mediations. Cathy left her position with the Department of Justice to become State Workers’ Compensation Manager, overseeing the State’s self-insured workers’ compensation program covering approximately 180,000 employees and monitoring contracted workers’ compensation vendors. During the six years she served as State Workers’ Compensation Manager, the program earned the Theo Award, a national award honoring employers who take bold or innovative steps to support injured workers and solve workers’ comp challenges. The Theo was awarded for the coordinated response taken to preserve workers’ compensation services to injured employees without disruption in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. She returned to mediation practice in 2026, limiting her practice to workers’ compensation mediations.

Cathy has served as a member of the NC Industrial Commission Stakeholder Group and of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute North Carolina Advisory Committee. She also served as a councilor for the North Carolina Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section Council and as a mentor with the McIntyre-Whichard Legal Fellows Program.  She has served as a presenter at the North Carolina Industrial Commission Workers’ Compensation Conference, North Carolina Public Risk Management Association Conference, Association of Insurance Agents’ State of North Carolina Risk Management Conference, and North Carolina Association of Community Colleges Conference. 

Cathy’s father was career Navy, so she moved frequently while growing up but has proudly called North Carolina home since she was a teen.  She lives in Cary with her wonderful husband Dan, also a workers’ compensation attorney, and their dog Liz who has no workers’ compensation experience.  She enjoys traveling with her husband, son, and daughter, especially to historic sites. She is an avid reader and has recently taken up watercolor painting.