About

Born in New York City, raised in Western Massachusetts, and "adulted" in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Texas, Kenya and North Carolina, Katie Sachs has been around the block a few times... The only child of a Social Work Professor/Poet and a LICSW/Sculptor, Katie had the values of healing, social justice and creativity instilled in her at a young age. Her professional and personal healing journey has taken several forms, as well as twists and turns, arriving her at a place where she is able to incorporate her varied career choices and life experiences into one integrative voice.

Katie graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008, with a degree in Creative Writing and University Bookstore Award for her Senior Thesis, a collection of short stories. She also earned an African Studies Minor, after spending a life-changing semester abroad in Kenya, where she studied sustainable development, interned at an all-girls school for sexual assault survivors, and lived with host families who were members of the Maasai and Kikuyu tribes. It was through this transformational cultural exchange that she learned how deep the importance of art, community and gratitude truly runs.

After college, Katie returned to her home town of Greenfield, MA and was an AmeriCorps member for 2 years working with low-income youth at The Brick House Community Resource Center. She ran their teen center and facilitated music, creative writing, and zine - making activities, and was then hired on as a case manager and permanent staff member at another youth-serving non-profit agency in the area. Katie received training in Non-Violent Communication (NVC), Authentic Relating Games Facilitation, Motivational Interviewing, Zen and Transcendental Meditation, Counsel Practice, Community Mediation and other connective methods/tools. She was also awarded grant funding to expand her creative healing programs into additional community spaces and organizations. She also co-founded The Woman's Songwriter Collective - a group of 6 women who collaborated and supported each other's musical endeavors and gained notoriety around Western Mass.

After about four years of living and working with youth in Western Massachusetts, Katie was drawn to Austin, TX through The Kerrville Folks Festival to pursue music full time. Katie quit her job, broke up with her long-term boyfriend, got her first tattoo, gave away all her furniture, moved into her car, and drove across the country to live in Texas and go full-force into a music career. Through the Kerrville Folks Festival, she gained notoriety from her peers by winning a slot at the coveted Staff Concert on the Threadgill Stage. She also spent many hours playing around the campfire with a then-unknown Adrianne Lenker and other members of the Grammy-nominated band Big Thief. In 2015, she released her first full-length album "The Giantness of Little Things," funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, that included collaborations with some of Austin's top musicians, including: Grammy award winner Brannen Temple (drummer for The Dixie Chicks, Chaka Khan, and others), Andrew Pressman (Bass player for Ben Kweller), Wilson Marks and others. She also continued her work as a community organizer by living in a variety of arts-based communities, and hosting weekly song circles, backyard concert events and more. In 2015, she released her official music video for the song Underwear Model featuring a tongue-and-cheek feminist comment on how women are often portrayed as sexual objects in the mainstream music industry and also offering a "body positive" message for humans of all shapes, ages, colors and sizes. In 2018, she released her third studio album "A Matter of Time" - an album crystalizing her unique songwriting style, mature sound and roots as a Jazz singer.

Katie attended A New Beginning School of Massage in Austin, TX and became a Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Texas in December of 2016 and in the state of North Carolina in 2018. She became Reiki I and II certified in 2018. Katie began her career working at one of Austin's premier Deep Tissue spa's, and was groomed in their unique style of myofascial sports massage, hydrotherapy and cupping techniques. She blends elements of this early training into her own unique perspective as an energy and bodyworker, along with her experience as a full-time musician, and youth counselor.

Katie now lives happily in Asheville, North Carolina. Catch her at a workshop, gig or on the massage table.

That we heal through feeling a connection with ourselves, the creative process, our environment and each other
That by moving into and through pain (gently, with compassion) we can uncover the root of our disease, make peace with it, and transform it into something beautiful
That open, clear, effective, grounded communication and active listening are non-negotiable parts of achieving connection and healing.
That this process is beautiful, and the product is art