Katie Bolkema enters her fifth season as the director of basketball operations for the Redbird women's basketball program, after joining the staff in May 2016. 

Bolkema previously worked with the ISU Event Management staff as a graduate assistant, starting in July 2014. She worked primarily with soccer, gymnastics, softball and track & field, as well as assisting with all remaining home athletics' events. Bolkema then left the Redbirds to pursue an assistant coaching position at her alma mater, UW-La Crosse, for the 2015-16 season.

A two-year letter winner for the Eagles, Bolkema started 50 of 51 games at UWL, after transferring from Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She started 25 of 26 contests in 2011-12, averaging 7.2 points and team-leading 7.0 rebounds per game. After missing the 2012-13 season due to injury, Bolkema started all 25 games in 2013-14 and was named to the All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Sportsmanship Team, as she averaged 5.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game that season.

The Cambridge, Wisconsin, native has worked at numerous basketball camps, including the Marlene Stollings' Basketball Camp at the University of Minnesota, the Lil Eagles Camp at UWL and Hoops For All at Viterbo (Wis.) University. Bolkema also served as an instructor for the Cambridge High School Girls' Basketball Camp and the Wesley Matthews Skills Academy.

Bolkema earned her bachelor's degree in sport management from UWL in 2014 and graduated with a master's degree in sports management from ISU in May 2016. She and her husband, Justin Bolkema, reside in Morton, Illinois.