Photo by Ashley Smith, Wide Eyed Studios   

Kat Echevarría Richter (she/her) is an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at Rutgers-Camden. Her writing explores matrescence, Puerto Rican identity, and American historiographies, usually with a side of humor. Her creative non-fiction essay "Becoming Boriqua" was selected as the winner of the 2025 Patty Friedman Writing Competition, co-sponsored by LMNL Arts and One Book One New Orleans, and her short story "The Top Up" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. 

Kat holds degrees in dance, history, and anthropology. She also studied English Literature at Oxford University, where she spent a year at New College as the recipient of a Caplan Scholarship. Prior to returning to school, her artistic and academic research centered on vernacular dance. Her work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and anthologies and she has taught at several universities including Rutgers, Temple, and Stockton.

In 2011, Kat also founded The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to the art of rhythm tap. During her thirteen years as Artistic Director, the organization received support from the Bartol Foundation, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.