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New job & Viva España

New job & Viva España

Felicidades campeonas.

August 20, 2023

Some news, as they say: I’m thrilled to announce I will be starting a new job next week with Emergent Climate as VP of Corporate Engagement, and that I’ll be able to remain in my ❤️ España, not an easy feat given visa restrictions on what jobs qualify & what companies sponsor.

Emergent emergentclimate.com is a nonprofit engaging forest countries & the private sector, mobilizing finance to support emissions reductions in deforestation at jurisdictional level, coordinating the LEAF Coalition. I’m really excited about what the work they are doing.

I am grateful to SO many people who have supported me and made connections and intros, from close friends to former bosses to Twitter friends to friends of friends. I wish I could tag you all, but there would be way more than 100 people. Gracias de corazón!

A bittersweet change is that while I’ll start work remotely from Valencia, I’ll move to Barcelona in fall. Many know that while I love 🇪🇸 in general, soy una friki con Barna. An American friend once said everybody should love something as much as Kat loves Barcelona. Y sí.

I had only been to Valencia twice before moving here, but it quickly won part of my heart, and people were incredibly welcoming (acogedora). I’ll miss plenty about Valencia, especially people and the Mercat Central and my terraza, though Barcelona is not so far.

Who knew that a paella luncheon in L’Albufera organized by my then-Twitter friend who I hadn’t met in person Juan Luis Hortelano in August 2021 would finally bring me to Spain to work at ClimateTrade. A dream achieved, an adventure half a lifetime in the making.

That was so many years after I fell in love with 🇪🇸 as a 19yo studying abroad in Toledo on my 1st trip outside 🇺🇸. Later came almost applying for a Fulbright in País Vasco, 1st considering an MBA after seeing an ad for an info session in El País in-flight to BCN in Nov 2007, entrance to Wharton & LauderInstitute, my Real Madrid internship via then-Lauder Director Mauro Guillen, almost going to work at FC Barcelona, many years of building contacts, joining Polaroo in Barcelona and my visa getting denied …

Pero no me rindo fácilmente. But I don’t give up easily.

Aquí me quedo, en España

🇪🇸❤️🇪🇸