Chasing new stories is the leitmotif of Katie's adventurous life – a winding road that eventually led to Park City.
Growing up in Olympia, Washington, "I wanted to be in broadcast news," she recalls. "I was even a reporter in high school."
"But I was losing the spark," she says of early TV jobs. "People weren't listening to the stories; they were more interested in what blazers I wore."
Katie soon found herself holding a one-way ticket explore new new life stories in Greece. Then, she was off to the German Alps as an Armed Forces Rec Center snowboard instructor.
A bike trip through Spain and Portugal led to work on a yacht ("Think 'Below Deck,'" she laughs), and after trips to Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore, Katie landed at Alaska's Denali National Park.
But nothing compared to Park City. "The best time ever!" she enthuses about visiting a college friend here. "It snowed powder at night and was sunny during the day. It was perfect."
Katie founded Panic Button Media in 2006 after gigs in Salt Lake TV and directing communications at The Canyons. "I love connecting people - knowing someone can benefit from knowing someone else - and staying connected to the old-timers who can tell stories about Park City in the 60s and 70s."
Of her multimedia work today, she says, "I love radio, podcasts and the challenge of writing a good story for magazines. Video is another favorite - I love moving pictures that tell a story, whether for social media, a website or a presentation."
An explorer of insatiable curiosity, Katie also savors quiet time, teaching yoga and living in a Brighton Estate cabin "that requires snowmobiling home,” she laughs. "Challenging, but worth it." Words that could also be a fair summary of Katie’s boldly-lived journey.