As a young reader, Katie Rast rarely met a book she didn’t love.

“I always had such an incredible love of books. I mean, there was no number that was too many, there was no amount that was too great. I wanted all the books,” she says. “What a love of reading taught me was that I could access the world around me through the pages of a book. It allowed me to learn about things that were so far away from my own experience—the planet, the bottom of the ocean. Things that I couldn’t go and see myself, but I could learn about them through a book. The experience of being a kid who loved to read showed me that information about the world was accessible, and I think there’s a huge power in that.”

That kind of foundation set her up for a career that has included working in education, workforce development, innovation, and entrepreneurship as co-founder and executive director of the Fab Lab in San Diego, a senior strategy advisor for the UC San Diego Design Lab and manager of the General Electric Brilliant Career Lab Initiative, director of community impact at the San Diego Foundation, and now as CEO of the Dr. Seuss Foundation, which she will officially begin in September. The organization promotes and funds education and literacy programs that encourage learning, imagination, and expanding opportunities for children, especially as it relates to early childhood education. In her work with the San Diego Foundation, Rast led the development of their Early Childhood Initiative to increase access to early childhood education. She was also part of the launch of a partnership between the San Diego and Dr. Seuss foundations, the Ready to Learn initiative, funded through a $15 million endowment to expand early literacy programming for young children in San Diego.

Rast, 44, lives in El Cajon with her husband, Allen McAfee, and their daughter, Madi. She took some time to talk about her new job and her commitment to making sure that more children have access to education early on that will help them throughout their lives. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version of this conversation, visit sandiegouniontribune.com/author/lisa-deaderick/.)

Q: Congratulations on your new position as CEO of the Dr. Seuss Foundation. Why did you initially want to join in their work when you served as secretary of the board of trustees?

A: The foundation has this amazing mission, which is to be a catalyst for early literacy development in all its forms, through strategic community partnerships and investments that inspire learning, spark imagination and expand opportunities for all children. That’s an area that I feel very passionately about. As someone who grew up loving to read, I know how important it is that children are able to cultivate a love of reading. Becoming a strong reader is key to becoming an empowered learner, so looking at things like grade level proficiency and how that is connected to a lifelong trajectory of academic and career success, it’s so important that we invest in our youngest learners and make sure that they are able to build the foundation that will help them be confident readers and learners for a lifetime.

Q: Why did you want to take on the role of CEO?

A: One of the things I’m looking most forward to about this role is the opportunity to continue our investment in early literacy and early learning and to make sure that young people have the foundations for these strong starts, that include making sure that children have access to the foundations for literacy, even before the age where they’re reading books. We know that so much brain development happens before even age 5, and making sure that young children are exposed to experiences that support healthy brain development really builds a foundation for literacy, so that when they arrive in school, they are able to read at grade level and, ultimately, go on to be strong learners throughout their academic careers.

What I love about El Cajon…

I lived in City Heights for many years and I really loved it there. I kind of thought I would never leave. I moved out to El Cajon in 2018 and I have found that I really love being close to the trees and nature, and living out here in El Cajon has given me that. I really appreciate that there is open space nearby—there are hawks flying around, there are beautiful trees everywhere I look. I also am still learning about East County and always looking for hidden gems. One of my favorite hidden gems is Mount Helix Park. That is one of my favorite spots out here in East County. 

Q: Were you a fan of Dr. Seuss books/media as a kid?

A: Yes, I did honestly love Dr. Seuss books as a kid. I have yet to meet a person who didn’t. I definitely gravitated toward the idea of the Lorax. Of course, I read all of the classic books, like “The Cat in the Hat,” etc. Those were definitely part of the early reading repertoire. As a kid, I definitely recall gravitating toward the idea of the Lorax and the importance of protecting the trees. I love nature and the natural environment—as a child, and I still do today. I also remember “The Butter Battle Book.” I recall thinking that it was really funny that people would worry about their preference for buttered bread. Of course, there’s a deeper message there, right? That’s the magic of Dr. Seuss—the silliness and the whimsy of his books is so enchanting. As young readers, we’re transported to these whimsical worlds. At the same time, in a lot of cases, there’s also a seed that’s being planted for an important message about getting along or caring about the world around us. The best part is that you’re also learning to love reading while you’re swept away by the whimsical characters of the Dr. Seuss world.

 

Originally Published: August 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM PDT