Kathleen (Kat) Linaker is President of Riverland Community College. Prior to joining Riverland in July 2023, she served as vice president of academics from 2018 to 2022 at Western Technical College (WI). Previously, she served Mohawk Valley Community College (NY) as assistant vice president of academics and dean of the School of STEM, Health, and Natural Sciences, and as dean of the Center for Life and Health Sciences. She served D’Youville University (NY) as the executive director of chiropractic programs. She was a faculty member from 1999 to 2009 and continues to teach one diagnostic imaging course each spring as an adjunct. She also brings 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry as an employee, small business owner, and
consultant.

The first in her family to attend college, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Alberta, a Doctor of Chiropractic from Northwestern Health Sciences University (MN), and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Loyola University (IL). She is a strong advocate for community and technical college education, having witnessed firsthand generational poverty and the power of education to transform the lives of both students and their families. While simultaneously stimulating economic growth within the local communities.