Barbier has worked as a social worker and public health professional in behavioral health, reproductive health, and teen pregnancy prevention. She has over 20 years of experience in program planning and implementation, interdisciplinary work, health equity, community health needs assessments, project management, and community and interest holder engagement.

As director of the Office of Student Applied Practice at WashU School of Public Health, Kate Barbier oversees the applied practice experience — or practicum — program for students working toward their master of public health (MPH) degrees. She co-teaches the course Foundations of Applied Practice, where she works with students one-on-one to identify their interests and skills, and help them connect with one of more than 150 community partners in St. Louis and across the globe for their practicum experience. Barbier also teaches courses in the foundational curriculum, including Program Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation, Public Health Seminar II, and Cross-Cutting Themes. Her most recent work includes developing the Public Health Practice Corps, an innovative cohort model for applied practice.