About Kate Albers

Kate Albers is the Veterans Clinic’s second Ben and Carolyn Thomas Fellow and an attorney representing veterans and their families before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. As the Thomas Fellow, Kate administers the clinic’s rural outreach program, Tigers For Troops (TFT), for which she organizes events bringing free legal consultations to Veterans living in rural areas of Missouri. In addition to her duties as the Thomas Fellow and attorney, Kate is the clinic’s CLE Director facilitating training in veterans’ law to attorneys and veterans representatives.

A Columbia, Missouri native, Kate graduated cum laude from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri where she received a degree in Psychology. Kate then attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (New Orleans, Louisiana) where she received a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Counseling degree in 2006. She then went on to serve as a chaplain in the United States Army Reserve from 2007-2018, attaining the rank of Captain. Between her periods of active duty, Kate became a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri and served as a Military Family Life Consultant (MFLC) on Air Force bases in the Kaiserslautern Military Community (Germany).

Following her role serving as a civilian military subcontractor, Kate was back in uniform when she was called to active duty and completed a 27-month mobilization as the Strong Bonds Program Manager for the 63d Readiness Division (Mountain View, California) serving 45,000 soldiers and their families (2012-2014). Following her discharge from active duty, Kate worked as a Readjustment Counseling Therapist at VA Vet Centers in Menlo Park and Santa Cruz, California where she provided counseling to combat veterans and veterans recovering from Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

Kate earned a Master of Business Administration from San Francisco State University in 2019. After moving back to Columbia in 2019, Kate finally became a bona fide Tiger and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri School of Law (2024). While in Law School, Kate was a three-year member of Mizzou Law’s Competitive Mock Trial Team participating in regional and national competitions. Kate was a student in the Veterans Clinic, the Innocence Clinic, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Practicum, and the Missouri Public Defender Practicum. She also completed a six-month clerkship with the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Missouri. She is the recipient of the R. David Ray Advocacy award and was a member of the Journal of Dispute Resolution, Vice-President of Christian Legal Society, and a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity.

Kate is admitted to practice law in the State of Missouri, and she is a member of the Missouri Bar Association.

In addition to her legal work, Kate continues to serve as an associate staff chaplain at the University of Missouri Hospital providing spiritual care to patients and families. She lives in Columbia with her Jack Russell/Rat Terrier, Murphy Brown. She is involved in a local church, is working towards earning her private pilot’s license, and regularly provides tech support to her boomer parents who live in the area.

Educational Background

• BA, Truman State University
• MBA, San Francisco State University
• JD, University of Missouri School of Law