She has volunteered in several equestrian centers in southern California, specifically training horses, in addition to the work she did at home to help improve the quality of life of one of her cats who struggled through life with a week heart often requiring hand feeding and constant observation. Despite her initial desire to become a marine biologist, Katie graduated from SUNY Purchase in 2002 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, specializing in photography. In order to put herself through school, she also worked as a make –up artist, which led her to her current position at Make-Up Forever, in New York .

Through her experiences in the make-up industry she has been able to participate in a number of charitable activities, including benefit fashion shows for battered women shelters, 911 relief, as well as volunteer work for a variety of independent films and photo shoots. Because make-up and photography go so well together, Katie has continued to work in both fields.

Recently, Katie lost two of her beloved dogs. Jack, a yellow lab, passed away from old age, but unfortunately, Otis, her chocolate lab, passed away from cancer. Katie’s mother’s cat, Sophie is an eighteen year old tonkenese who is fighting liver disease. For all of these reasons, Katie is proud to be able to volunteer her time and talent to helping out Little Lotus Hearts. Katie is twenty-six and lives in New York with Valentino Pellegrino, a Hemmingway cat whom she adopted from a no kill shelter in Brooklyn.