Kate Okerstrom, MBA
DIRECTOR OF CLIENT RELATIONS
Kate ensures that each client has a personal and exceptional experience at Laraway Financial Advisors. Her sunny disposition and generosity are apparent from the first client introduction to her coordination of client appreciation events, and multiple client interactions in between as she supports the various Investment Advisors and CEO activities.
Prior to joining the company in 2013, Kate operated a medical billing service for five years and was an office administrator for a psychological services center. She has an MBA in Business Administration from the Minnesota School of Business. Today, Kate makes sure the Laraway Financial Advisors’ office runs smoothly, efficiently handling clients’ account paperwork, reporting, appointment setting, and communications as well as tracking Investment Advisor continuing education, and setting office procedures.
“I appreciate how my job duties change from day-to-day,” says Kate. “I also enjoy the variety of fun and interesting people I meet as our clients.”
Kate is a “people person,” caring for the wellbeing of the clients she serves. She respects her colleagues in the office and appreciates the team spirit. “The team of Financial Advisors works well together, creating a warm, welcoming office, everyone wearing smiling faces to greet our wonderful clients,” says Kate. “This sets a positive tone for meetings and the business environment.”
Growing up with three older brothers on a St. Joseph dairy farm, Kate had to be hardy. She roughhoused, shared chores, and learned to ride at the tender age of five. Her love of horses stuck. Today, Kate and her husband Jason own seven horses, which they’re training to compete in team penning and ranch sorting, activities that preserve the skillsets of working cow horses and handlers. The two often hitch up the horse trailer and take a couple of four-legged friends with them on camping and trail riding trips to places like Custer, South Dakota.
“We also love to meet people and see everything the world has to offer,” says Kate of the couple’s travel without horses. They’ve been to Alaska, Jamaica, Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Mexico, where they deep-sea fished in Cabo San Lucas on their honeymoon.
The couple attends Mass at St. James Catholic Church, Jacobs Prairie. Kate takes her faith seriously, which is why she finds joy in her life and in other people, and why she treats others with kindness and compassion.
Something few know about Kate . . . Kate’s dream job is to open an equine assisted therapy center for children, adults, and veterans. The treatment––which uses interaction between human and horse––promotes physical, occupational, and emotional growth in persons with ADHD, anxiety, autism, cerebral palsy, dementia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.