Kathy Heinsohn

On a barrier island beyond Charleston in Folly Beach, S.C., Kathy Heinsohn, Ph.D., grew up knee-deep in brine, walking along the shore collecting crabs, starfish, sea urchins and other myriad invertebrates.

Some creatures were pets, like the langusta lobster named Miss Winnie that outgrew numerous aquariums during her seven-year residence. “She was great fun because she molted twice a year and my dad would mount them on a board; that was very interesting,” said Dr. Kathy. (Heinsohn’s dad was already called “Dr. Heinsohn” so her peers took to calling her “Dr. Kathy.” It stuck!) Her memories growing up on the coast with a dentist father and nurse mother translated to a trifecta of exposure to biology of all kinds.

She was hooked on science early on.

But there were never any fun bug collections or thoughts about insects other than swatting off some pesky pests while fishing, boating or combing the beaches. Pest management never crossed her mind — at the time, anyway. But such things often change, don’t they? Today, Dr. Kathy’s deep entomological knowledge base is rooted in her love of mollusks, biology and more. For 23 years, Dr. Kathy has been all about insect and vertebrate pests in the structural pest management industry. Today, she’s technical and training entomologist for American Pest, an Anticimex company (Fulton, Md.). Her primary responsibility is contract entomologist for managing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) accounts. She also helps oversee the U.S. State Department and other federal government contracts.

“I call myself an accidental entomologist and pest professional,” she said. She quickly added, “It is one of the best accidents that could have happened to me!”

“She is always laughing, friendly and finding joy in life and doesn’t suppress any of that,” said Bobby Corrigan, Ph.D., RMC Pest Management Consulting, who met her at Purdue University when she joined the entomology program. “And it’s so refreshing.”

Dr. Kathy’s experience is unique in how she has served many roles in the industry, including academia, the private sector and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Education is a theme that has weaved through all her industry stops.

AN ACCIDENTAL ENTOMOLOGIST. A series of skips and hops during Dr. Kathy’s college career ultimately landed her in an entomology Ph.D. program at Purdue University. But the path was a bit jagged and took some time to find its way.

When Dr. Kathy headed off to Clemson University with a mind to become a veterinarian, having helped out in a cousin’s vet office through the years, she brought with her a love of sea creatures. However, during her second year, an aversion to the hands-on dissection work required in an animal science course immediately resulted in a pivot. She returned “home” to marine invertebrates and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Clemson.

During her undergraduate studies, she won an Exxon student research grant to study at the Bermuda Biological Station and become a teaching assistant for a tropical invertebrate class. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, Dr. Kathy received a Fulbright Scholarship to West Germany to study mussels on the North Sea mudflats.

While completing her studies, Dr. Kathy accepted a three-year junior faculty teaching position at North Carolina State University in the biological sciences department. Nearing the end of the stint, Dr. Kathy said, “I had confirmed I loved invertebrates, and I loved teaching. There was one small problem.”

The largest class of invertebrates is Insecta and she knew very little about them, she said.

“I went through the halls my last year of teaching and started yanking down bulletin board cards that advertised various Ph.D. programs. I was mostly looking for marine science or marine biology, but I sent in applications for general biology and entomology, too.”

Enter Dr. Gary Bennett, who was ultimately responsible for Dr. Kathy’s foray into entomology.

BUGGING OUT. Bennett wrote letters to Dr. Kathy to explain Purdue University’s program. Then one day, an envelope from West Lafayette contained a plane ticket and invitation to tour the Indiana campus and Entomology Hall in person — a historical building she would eventually rally to help save (more on that later).

“At the time, I didn’t know what Dr. Bennett meant by ‘urban entomology,’” said Dr. Kathy. Her parents encouraged her to check out the opportunity, asking, “What do you have to lose?”

Bennett is also from the South, so the two shared that connection, and Dr. Kathy recognized Purdue’s well-funded research opportunities, including a study on sexual behavior of German cockroaches as an early study of Insect Growth Regulator efficacy.

“I needed to learn about insects if I was going to teach invertebrate biology as a professor one day, so I said, ‘Yes,’ and started at Purdue in August 1991,” Dr. Kathy said, although she was still not a fully converted entomologist.

But Bennett’s efforts opened a fascinating door that led to Dr. Kathy’s eventual career. “She was very interested in education, in general, and you don’t always see that — and when you do, there’s a willingness to do almost anything you can do to help out,” Bennett said. “There is no better, more enthusiastic, more willing, more energetic person.”

There were 20 students in Dr. Kathy’s graduate student class, and most were not entomologists. So, Purdue organized a 101 course offering a run-down of the fundamentals. As Dr. Kathy always does, she immersed herself in entomology as a research graduate student. She volunteered for the annual Purdue Pest Management Conference and provided plenty of help with the first annual and subsequent Bug Bowl events.

Of the more than 60 graduate students during the last 50 years at Purdue University, Bennett said Dr. Kathy was the closest to his family and became a “second daughter.”

Bennett held an extension service appointment, “and this is where Kathy made an important contribution,” he said. “I was responsible for the annual Purdue Pest Management Conference that brought in people from 40 to 45 states and at least a half-dozen foreign countries, and Kathy was my right-hand person in terms of putting that together and handling all the details, making sure everything ran smoothly.”

He added, “That is the kind of person she is — always willing to pitch in and help.”

Corrigan also met Dr. Kathy during her time in the graduate program while he was on staff. “Everyone can feel at ease with Kathy very quickly,” he said. “At the same time, she was serious about her research and doing it right.”

A CAMPAIGN & EDUCATION. Most of Dr. Kathy’s German cockroach work was conducted in the Flight Room of the then Entomology Hall — an architectural marvel and sister building to the Chicago Art Institute. Architect Robert Frost Daggett incorporated many of the same Beaux-Arts features in both buildings, including denticles along the roofline and a grand oak staircase in the foyer.

One day, Dr. Kathy was in attendance while the dean was addressing faculty. He announced the administration would soon tear down the hall to build a new facility. “Everyone sort of gasped,” Dr. Kathy said. “I raised my hand, not knowing the dean, and said, ‘Why on earth would you tear down such a beautiful building that appears to be very historic?’ He was sort of flabbergasted that a grad student would ask such a question. It was out of my mouth before I knew it.”

Bennett said, “Kathy stepped up to the plate along with several other folks. We got the Indiana and federal Historical Registry and Society involved, and this is where an education aspect came into play again: Informing the board of trustees why this building was so important and should be preserved.”

“If it were not for Kathy, the Entomology Hall building would no longer be there,” Corrigan added. “She helped save it.”

During this process, she gained lessons in civics, history, architecture, feasibility, ADA studies, local government and activism — not to mention fundraising as she helped sell Save Entomology Hall T-shirts to cover the fees associated with a historic landmark designation.

“Eventually, all of that educational activity led to the saving of the building, upgrading and saving the hall,” Bennett said.

Today, the building is called Pfendler Hall, after a beloved ag professor and teacher from the early 1900s. It houses the College of Agriculture with a specially designated entomology classroom.

Moving into Industry. After graduation from Purdue, Dr. Kathy shifted into teaching at an industry level, accepting a position in 1998 at Western Pest Services. There she learned more about fieldwork and helped solve tough best problems under expert mentorship, she said. “It was a busy time, and I was learning lots and gaining confidence and support,” she said.

She helped organize recertification schools in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., for technicians and service managers. “The technicians are the most important people in your pest control business life,” she said. “They are out there day in and day out, and their hard work and dedication is what got managers to where they are. If you don’t walk in their shoes and understand the constraints you are putting on them, you cannot properly manage them. I’d like to see more high-level managers leave their desks and get into the field. Many have a disconnect.”

During this time, Dr. Kathy joined the Copesan Technical Committee and attended quarterly meetings, wrote articles and developed IPM programs for food safety, hospitals and grocers. “Some of my best friends in the industry have come from this group,” she said.