Katia has been designing and inventing all her life. While most kids were dreaming of becoming sports stars, doctors, or firefighters, she was dreaming of authoring patents. At Colorado State University, mechanical engineering was the closest thing to a degree in invention, and she simultaneously interned with HP Inc. in their Materials Science Lab, finally checking patents off her list.  In addition, she participated in a collaborative research effort to standardize microgrids to achieve world electrification by 2030. 

Post graduation, Katia walked away from HP and joined the US Peace Corps with the hopes of using the 27-month commitment to identify potential innovation opportunities to apply design. After one month in Lesotho, Africa, Katia realized that international development work is made highly complicated by culture, history, politics, and government, and though she was well intentioned, it was not in the Basotho people's best interest for her to be there. Returning stateside, 6 months of unemployment forced her to take pause and determine what she wanted from her life, and she is now chasing positive impact product development which aligns perfectly with her role within SOBRSafe Inc. She balances that with espresso, adventure, and globetrotting (when there's not a pandemic).