Originally from Yokohama, Japan, Kaori “Katie” Covey has made Oregon her permanent home since 1999. After graduating from an English language international high school, Katie went abroad to study Performing Arts here, in Eugene. She fell for northwest pinot noir and forged some local friendships, but returned to Japan to work as an Events Coordinator, a job that led to an exciting stint in international sports event coordination for Nike in Tokyo. When Nike realigned its Asia base, she took the opportunity to return to Oregon and pursue a personal interest in naturopathic medicine. One of her original Oregonian friends became something more – and then they got married! His family worked in residential real estate, and Katie was soon sucked into that vortex. She earned her real estate license to help show property, and later pivoted to transaction coordination work for a team at a large franchise. After more than fifteen years doing this work, she looked for a local company she could help grow in more than one capacity.

A practitioner of Esoteric Buddhism, Katie is a great multitasker who embraces positivity. She loves to curl up with cats Mona & Moses and watch Hayao Miyazaki films, practice yoga and meditation, or plan her next trip to the Japanese hot springs Izu or Hakone with husband Derek. Katie also likes exploring new hearty soup recipes, almost any seafood, coastal day hikes, and dreams of getting a Great Pyrenées to take along someday.