Dr. Catherine M. Branson

March 8, 1975 - August 19, 2021 Catherine Moreno Branson, PhD, MPH (Katie, b. Catherine Rebecca Moreno), of Portland, OR, passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 19th, 2021 at her childhood home in Coronado, CA. She was 46. She is survived by her husband Steve, her children Owen and Chloe, her brother Jesse, and her parents Pamela and Steven Moreno. Katie was born in San Diego, CA, and spent her childhood in Idaho and Southern California. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received her BA in International Development Studies. She met her future-husband in 1997, and they were happily married for 21 years. She spent her final years in Oregon, where she loved to bike, swim, and hike.She received a PhD and Masters Degree in Public Health from UCLA, and helped many at-risk populations though her work as a Senior Epidemiologist for the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), The Institute for Public Strategies (IPS), and the Los Angeles County Health Department. Katie will be remembered as a beautiful, intelligent, tolerant, and vibrant being with an abundance of charity and a desire to make our world a better, more colorful place. She was a devoted mother, talented artist, loved music and dancing, and was passionate about defending the environment and human rights. Her absence will be deeply felt by the many friends, relatives, and colleagues whose lives she filled with light, laughter, and joy.