When people walk into the Key Biscayne Police Department, Kate wants them to feel something before they leave.
Safe. Respected. Helped. Human.
For 26 years, Kate has served our community through the KB Police Department. She began as a police dispatcher, then became a Public Service Aide, earning certifications in crime scene investigation and property and evidence along the way. Today, as Chief Frank DeSousa’s executive assistant, she is often one of the first people residents meet when they come in for help.
Kate understands the sacred responsibility of that first interaction.
“I never say no,” she said. “When I am needed, I say yes.”
Kate is a shining example of love for the Key Biscayne community. She loves the differences that live inside this island, the people, the manners, the cultures, the stories. Her face lights up when she describes how much she has learned from residents from so many countries, especially when they share how laws, systems and daily life work in their homelands.
To Kate, communication is joy.
Behind the glass at the police station, she sees people at their most honest. Raw. Real. Vulnerable. No performance. No pretending. Just a human being needing direction, patience, protection, or care.
Kate’s heart for service began early. Her great-grandfather was a City of Miami police officer, and his photos still hang proudly by her desk. From age 15 to 21, she was a Police Explorer. She dreamed of becoming an officer herself, but life redirected her path: vision challenges, emergency surgery and then motherhood.
So she stayed. Former Chief Carles Press saw in her the gift this village still receives today: a woman who leads with warmth, humility and a deep desire to help.
Outside of work, Kate is a shy artist. Through acrylic and abstract multimedia art, she expresses what words cannot always hold.
Her message to the community is simple:
Be patient. Be kind to all and listen so that we can create more awareness.
I am love. I am service. I am Key Biscayne.
You might recognize them as you pass them around the Island, but do you really know them, their story and what makes them who they are? Soy / I’m is a Islander News feature, conceived by photographer Viviana Roque (@viviroquephoto) and Carolina Pacheco Punceles, two Key Biscayne residents driven by a simple curiosity: to go beyond the familiar and capture the individuality, spirit and stories that make this Island unique.