Sullivan is originally from Lakeville, Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.
[1][2] Sullivan began her journalistic career in the Midwest at the CBS affiliate WSBT-TV in South Bend, Indiana, where she started as an intern and was promoted to a general assignment reporter.
In 2000, she joined KATV, the Allbritton Communications Company owned ABC-affiliated television station in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a general assignment reporter.
While at KATV, Kate reported on 9/11 from Ground Zero in New York and presented stories about Arkansans who had lost loved ones during the tragedy.
She also reported a series of stories from Honduras on the charitable work of the Arkansas-based non-profit Heifer International.