KATIA ZAHARIN BARRETT had been operating a successful consultant business when, at the age of 31, she decided to pursue a new career as a firefighter. She did work full-time for an ambulance company, and was a volunteer firefighter for the city of Menlo Park. She is now a firefighter for Union City Fire Department and still runs her consulting business. She was nominated by her sister who explains that after their parents’ divorce, Katia took care of her younger brother and sister. The first member of the family to attend college, she is listed in Who’s Who Among American Women, is a 1992 graduate of the San Mateo City Leadership Program, manager and player with the Round Table Rebels co-ed softball team, and an accomplished saxophone player and flutist who plays with her local community band and church.
