Katarina first joined the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) in 2005 as a summer hire and student intern assigned to the Grants Management Division, and continued volunteering with BSO's Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) throughout high school. In 2010, Katarina began an internship with the Public Information Office and Community Affairs, leading to her hiring in 2011. During her career at BSO, Katarina served in multiple roles, including Records Technician in the Records Division and Child Investigative Specialist in the Child Protective Investigations Section. She also held positions as Administrative Specialist and Community Programs Supervision Specialist in Pretrial Services, where she acted as a liaison to Command staff, the Broward County community and external vendors. She later became a Special Projects Coordinator in the Training Division, administering the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program and BSO's Citizens Academy. In 2022, she returned to the Community Affairs Division as the Community Affairs Manager. Katarina is a Board Member and Treasurer for the non-profit organization Shining Star and a member of the Public Relations Society of America, City-County Communications and Marketing Association and National Association of Government Communicators. She holds the Florida Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Practitioner designation and has completed the leadership trilogy through FBI-LEEDA. Born in Texas and raised in South Florida, Katarina earned a bachelor's degree in Public Communication with minors in Business Administration and Sociology from Florida Atlantic University, followed by a master's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University.