New Mexico Consortium Mourns the Passing of Co-Founder Katharine Chartrand

Los Alamos, NM – March 13, 2019 – It is with extremely heavy hearts and great sadness that we share the news of our great friend and colleague Katharine Chartrand’s recent passing.

After a spirited battle with cancer, the New Mexico Consortium’s co-founder and first executive director passed away on Thursday, February 21, surrounded by her loving family. Katharine chose not to share her illness publicly so she could instead focus her energy on healing and on spending time with her family.

We know that her colleagues, business associates and community members join us in mourning her loss, and in celebrating her legacy as a catalyst for nonprofit scientific research, education and economic development in Los Alamos.

Chartrand led the NMC for seven years, from its inception in 2008 as an independent non-profit research and education organization, until her departure in 2015, after she’d led the nonprofit to become an $8 million per year organization with major research programs in Biology and Computer Science. At her retirement celebration in August 2015 she declared, “The NMC is in a solid financial position with a strong team in place ready to take over.  It feels like my Seinfeld moment has come.”

There is no minimizing the loss we feel and that Katharine’s absence represents, but her energy, drive and vision for the NMC — not to mention her infectious laugh and brilliant mind — will be comforting reminders of the gifts she gave to us all during her life. We will miss her dearly.