Kate Belcher Webster (1924-2017) was a longtime Washington State University (WSU) regent and a leader at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Born and raised in New York City, Webster moved to Seattle some time after her marriage to Holt Webster, founder of the Airborne Express delivery company. She described herself as a “professional volunteer.” In Seattle, Webster first became involved with the Junior League, serving as its president, and would go on to serve on the boards of more than 30 educational, health, and religious organizations, including the United Way of King County, the YMCA of Greater Seattle, and Smith College, her alma mater.

As WSU regent, she helped the college open branch campuses in Spokane, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver. A daughter of two physicians, she joined the Children’s Hospital board of trustees in 1963 and became chairwoman in 1970. During her tenure, she formalized an affiliation with the University of Washington School of Medicine, launched the first $25 million building campaign in the hospital's history, and restructured the hospital’s administration, leading to the recruitment of Children’s first president and CEO in 1979.

Interview conducted by Donald A. Schmechel on March 30, 1988. This interview is part of the Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection. Don Schmechel, who was a member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation board, began this project with Seattle Public Library in 1984, with the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) brought on board as a partner in early 1985. Schmechel himself worked to raise the funding for the project, and volunteered his time to manage the project, and to conduct interviews along with a crew of volunteers. Originally titled the Videotaping Historic Figures (VHF) Program, the project interviewed 91 people, and MOHAI holds the interviews for 32 of these individuals.