About Zeke

A Seward neighborhood native. Raised by artists. Formally trained as a master chemist. Experienced in tutoring, instruction, and business technology.

From artistic roots…

I was raised in the Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis, MN by my parents, Roy Cato and Nancy Schultz. Roy was known for his paintings, carvings, photography, and, perhaps most prolifically, his work as a handyman and craftsman in people’s homes. Nancy Schultz is a textile artist and her work can be seen at NancySchultzColor.com

to academic adventure…

I was ( and still am ) a diligent student who loves to work on complex problems with a big toolbox of problem solving skills. I started college at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities Campus) in 2008, majoring in chemical engineering. I loved the basic principles behind it. Studying calculus, physics, chemistry, and computer assisted modeling programs was a good time for me, and my experience was paid for through a variety of scholarships. In my junior year of college, I decided to change my major to chemistry. I took a year off from school and worked as a tutor at Lane Community College in their Math resource center before continuing on to begin a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Through my experiences there I realized that I wanted to move on from my academic research track, and I came back to Minneapolis to pursue tutoring and teaching after finishing my M.S. requirements in 2014.

and a change of direction…

I decided to take a job at Seward Community Co-op for a stable income while I worked on growing my tutoring business. My time in the wellness department there inspired my formulations for Sensitively Simple Natural Body Care, and I soon transferred into the IT department where I had tremendous opportunities to learn and implement new skills for solving real problems in systems and database administration, automation, and application design. As I learned new skills in business IT, I started to put them to work in my volunteer positions, helping both Seward Neighborhood Group and Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice migrate to G-Suite for Nonprofits and consult on work-impacting computer issues.

leading to independence.

I enjoyed my time at Seward Co-op, but the day came in November 2019 when I knew that my best path for growth was working for myself and being of service to a wider community. I am offering my expertise as an IT consultant as well as running Sensitively Simple Natural Body Care. You might also catch me over at Jack’s Hardware and Farm Supply mixing up paint!