Katja is a Coach who works with a strong facilitation mindset. She creates focused, thoughtful environments where people can pause, think clearly, and work through real communication challenges. Rather than prescribing solutions, she supports individuals and teams to recognise what is already working and to build confidence in how they show up, speak, and lead.

With extensive experience in communication, leadership development, and learning design, Katja has worked with senior leaders, managers, and professionals across global organisations. Through this work, she has seen that meaningful and sustainable change rarely comes from dramatic interventions. Instead, it is often the accumulation of small, deliberate shifts in awareness, behaviour, and communication that leads to clarity, confidence, and momentum. This principle underpins both her 1:1 coaching and her work with groups.

Katja holds a Masters degree in History from Leiden University, a discipline that shaped her interest in people’s stories, perspectives, and how meaning is created through dialogue. She began her professional career at the largest bookstore in the Netherlands, based in Rotterdam, before moving into Learning and Development roles in the Netherlands and the UK. She later founded Sparkling Speech Ltd, delivering communication and confidence coaching alongside bespoke training and workshop design.

Since joining Own The Room and LifeHikes in 2018, Katja has delivered and designed learning experiences worldwide, across in person, virtual, and blended formats. Alongside coaching, she has played a key role in developing and scaling learning programmes within the LifeHikes and Own The Room portfolio, working closely with clients to ensure relevance, quality, and real world application.

Outside of her professional work, Katja enjoys boxing in Holland Park, slow breakfasts with a newspaper, and time spent with her vinyl record collection. She lives in London and considers her move there one of the most defining decisions of her life.