Born and raised in central Siberia, where she was recruited by a government program for gifted youth artists, Katya decided to leave home at 17 and move to Moscow, where she continued working and advancing for many years to eventually become head of marketing for one of the top luxury restaurant and hospitality companies in Russia.

During this period, Katya traveled throughout South Asia, Europe and North America. It was during these travels that Katya rekindled her artistic talents and fell in love with the art of photography – including focused study projects with legendary photojournalist, Sergey Maksimishin. Later on she studied fashion photography, art and history of photography and Photoshop editing.

Katya moved to the United States in 2016 to build a new career as a professional photographer. She married in 2018 and moved with her husband, their daughter and two cats to a historic stone cottage in Harpers Ferry, WV (about 50 mile northwest of Washington, D.C.) which they are slowly renovating in their free time.