Dr. Katie Ruggieri currently serves at the Division Dean of Science & Mathematics at Massasoit Community College.  Growing up in Rhode Island, Katie discovered a love for science at a very early age.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Smith College and from there went directly to the University of Iowa, where she graduated with her Ph.D. in Anatomy & Cell Biology.  She returned to the northeast to complete a postdoc in pulmonary vascular biology at Brown University in 2007.  During her postdoctoral training, Katie began teaching as an adjunct instructor of Biology at the Community College of Rhode Island and Bristol Community College and she fell in love with it.  In 2011, she took a full-time faculty position at Bristol, where she worked to build a Biotechnology training program and to launch Life Sciences Associates degrees in Biology and Biotechnology and Forensic DNA.  Katie transitioned into leadership in late 2019, serving as Associate Dean of STEM and then Interim Dean of STEM.  She joined the Massasoit team in January 2023 and is beyond grateful to work with such a wonderful team, focused on student success and advancing STEM education and training in the region.