Katie Mahalic is a documentarian, podcaster, and filmmaker originally from Davison, a small town outside Flint, Michigan. Over the years, she has lived and worked in Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Nicaragua, San Francisco, and now resides in Knoxville. She has been hired as part of a new interdisciplinary cohort within the UT College of Arts and Sciences focused on Envisioning and Narrating Emerging Futures (ENEF).

Her films and podcast, Shadow Clock—an audio documentary series exploring unexpected life moments—have received numerous awards in the United States and internationally. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to capturing the defining moments of the human experience.

Katie’s notable projects include Welcome to Unity, a feature-length documentary available on Kanopy and Amazon Prime, and the short film The Vacuum Kid. Following her fellowship with the Stony Brook University Podcast Incubator in New York City, she is preparing to release the next season of Shadow Clock in January 2027.

Katie has an extensive teaching background, with appointments at San Francisco State University, Washington University in St. Louis, The Art Institute of Illinois, and Columbia College Chicago. In spring 2025, she co-taught an oral history course in collaboration with the Appalachian Justice Research Lab, which supports Appalachian communities impacted by poverty, inequality, and violence.

She loves collecting antique and vintage photographs, hiking, visiting National Parks, ice skating, practicing Spanish, and engaging in conversations that challenge societal perceptions and push the boundaries of comfort, imagination, and perspective. Her storytelling is rooted in a curiosity about the world and a belief that meaningful conversations and new experiences can transform how we contribute positively within our own communities.