7 Years

What is your career volume as a REALTOR®?
$62M

What was your total volume last year?
$21M

What awards have you achieved as a REALTOR®?
- #1 Volume and Production at Prime Real Estate Group 2022
- This! The Real Producers feature is a true honor as well. Thank you!

Favorite Restaurants:
Wild Sage, Zona Blanca and Karma.

Favorite Candy:
Dark chocolate with sea salt

Favorite Quotes:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." -Ferris Bueller

Favorite Local Bar:
Emma Rue’s when “Villa Blues and Jazz” plays live.

Favorite Lake:
Priest Lake (if you have to ask you wouldn't understand).

Top 5 Favorite Movies:
The Princess Bride, Erik The Viking, Harold & Maude, Ever After, and The Shawshank Redemption.

Are you involved with a non-profit or charity?:
- HoneyLove.org—I co-founded this 501(c)3 Non-Profit in Los Angeles 10 years ago, and spearheaded the legalization of urban beekeeping in LA.
- Sacred Heart—Cardiac Council Member
- Vanessa Behan—Volunteer & Donor

Where are you from originally:
I lived most of my childhood in Laguna Beach (Pre-K through 9th grade), graduated from San Clemente High School in 1999, and went to UC Santa Cruz for college (BA in Film and Digital Media, Minor in Sociology). Before moving to Spokane in 2015, I lived near Venice Beach for about 10 years.

What is the best advice that you received?
My dad and step-mom (Larry & Leslie Austin) always say “better is better" and it really helps me to appreciate the progress I make, and not get overly consumed with the end goal. I say that phrase to myself pretty much every day, whether it is when I'm working on a big task or just a simple chore around the house. It always makes me feel good. Better is better!

Favorite Music:
To put myself through college I was a full-time professional DJ, playing weddings, corporate parties, and school dances. Through that experience I learned to love and appreciate a diverse variety of music—as long as it gets people dancing! I started swing dancing (Lindy Hop) in high school and that passion has carried with me ever since. I branched out to blues dancing in college and got hooked on attending “Swing/Blues Exchanges” where people from all over the world meet up in a big city for a weekend. In 2004 I even went on a two-month long road trip around the US with a few friends, hitting all of the different exchanges each week and dancing every day in between. I haven’t found a blues dance scene here in Spokane yet, so I switched gears and recently started taking Bachata and Kizomba lessons at an awesome little studio downtown Spokane called Satori.

What other hobbies keep you busy:
We live on the top of Silver Lake (15 minutes west of downtown Spokane). Even though I’ve lived in a number of places in my life, I always gravitate to living near the water. The kids and I enjoy going out on boats, kayaks and playing at the beach. I also love having a big flower/veggie garden and chickens at home. My current favorite flowers to grow are dahlias, roses and lavender. I was never much of a flower person when I was younger, but once I started growing them everything changed for me. I love being able to hand a friend or client a bouquet from the garden. If you haven’t started following Erin Benzakein (@floretflower) from Skagit Valley on Instagram yet you should—she is beyond inspiring. I took her 6-week intensive online workshop a few years ago and it was so fun!

What was your career before getting into real estate?
I worked for many years as chief video editor for a few commercial film production studios in Orange County, Los Angeles and Hollywood. Eventually I was recruited by the multibillion-dollar fitness company Beachbody. Originally, I was hired to edit their TV commercials (which I did for some time) until one day they asked me to edit a funny little YouTube video starring the creator of P90X, Tony Horton. Once the video was released, I pitched the idea of creating YouTube channels for our trainers to the CEO. After that meeting I was promoted from editor to Senior Director, running the new YouTube Department. I developed a targeted content strategy and directed our multi-talented small crew of cinematographers, editors and producers. We produced weekly workouts, vlogs, and influencer collaborations using cutting edge, cross-platform, social video analytics tools. In the first year, I organically grew Tony Horton’s channel to over 100,000 subscribers which got us invited to the Streamy Awards (the Oscars of YouTube). Good times!

If you could own your dream vacation home, where would it be?
I’d rather explore new places, instead of just picking one spot to visit again and again. Travel is a huge passion in my family. As a child I was very fortunate to take a number of international trips (Australia, Germany, England, Costa Rica). One of my first big trips was with my mother (Amana Nova) in 4th grade to Bali, Indonesia. She ended up moving there a few years later, so I spent a good chunk of my childhood going back and forth between my Dad (Papa) in Southern California and my Mom in Indonesia. After graduating High School, I spent a summer in Paris, France learning how to film and edit 16mm. After graduating college, I ventured to Asia on my own for nearly a year. I spent most of my time in India, working with local filmmakers making documentaries, and teaching video editing to students at colleges in Delhi. I also explored Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Laos and China. Now that I have two adventurous young children—William (8) and Lily (4)—I can’t wait to continue to explore the world with them!

If you had to narrow down to just one experience, what home closing has been the most rewarding?
Helping a good friend and her husband to purchase the home they were renting a few years back was a great victory. They had been denied a loan before and had all but given up. I was able to connect them with one of my favorite local lenders to get them approved for a VA loan with additional money for renovations. Through this loan they were able to do some dream updates to the inside and outside of their home. The process was more involved than a typical transaction, but ultimately so great. Helping people become financially stable through real estate is truly such an empowering and inspiring feeling. Love that!

What was one of the favorite things you’ve seen during a home showing?
In the basement of a very small and unassuming home near Gonzaga I pushed a hidden button on a bookshelf which opened a secret door. Inside was the sommelier owner’s private, climate-controlled wine room with a cozy seat and mellow music playing inside. I actually squealed with delight when the door opened. Now I can’t help but want a secret room in my home one day too.

Favorite Motivational Speaker:
When I was in high school my father signed me up for a 12-week Dale Carnegie course. Taking that course and reading Carnegie’s books made a profound impact on me growing up. One concept in particular is something he calls “day tight compartments” where he encourages people to focus on living in the present moment and avoid dwelling on past regrets or worrying excessively about the future.

Define success:
“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you” -Buddha

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently in your RE career and why?
I feel so fortunate when taking a look back at my real estate career so far. I honestly can’t think of what I would want to change. Right out the gate I met one of the most brilliant and inspiring people in our industry, Melissa Murphy (Designated Broker at Prime Real Estate Group) and we hit it off immediately. I ramped up slowly in my first few years without putting too much pressure on my production outcome, and focused on connecting with my community out in the West Plains. One of the most profound shifts in my career was when I met Stuart Prey, who is now my business partner. He was my first mentor at Prime teaching me the ropes, and we had such a great synergy together that we quickly teamed up to create our brand “MFP Real Estate”. Stuart is such a stellar human being, with unshakable integrity, a big heart, and he's become not just a great business partner, but also a dear friend. MFP also now includes our protégé Jake Browne who joined us a few years back, and he has become a fantastic addition to our MFP team.

Real estate has been such a great fit for me. I’ve been able to pull from my marketing, media and tech background in ways that are so useful. I've also always loved solving problems. Being a Realtor® has given me such a unique opportunity to connect with people during what is usually such a major shift in their lives, and I feel so honored to be part of that journey with them. I’m looking forward to the years ahead in this industry, and doing all I can to make a positive impact on our community.