Kassy grew up in northwest Ohio. She earned a BS from Randolph-Macon College and a PhD from Duke University in chemistry. She spent eight years teaching at small, private, liberal arts colleges before joining the faculty at Colorado State University in 2015. She serves as the General Chemistry Lecture Coordinator at CSU. The general chemistry program services over 2000 students per semester with course section enrollments up to 250 students. Kassy lives in Fort Collins, CO with her family (two boys 13 and 10, a yellow lab, a bearded dragon, and a baby on the way in late September.)