Catherine has worked in education for 26 years. She holds a BA in Music Performance and DRSAMD in Advanced Guitar Studies from the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow. For 22 years she taught music in secondary schools and was head of the Expressive Arts Faculty, then depute head teacher at Kelso High School.

For 4 years, Catherine has been a Quality Improvement Officer for education with responsibility for ICT across all 68 schools.

Catherine is the strategic education lead for Inspire Learning, the council's £16million education transformation programme which aims to deliver excellence and equity for all young people.