TBG | meet Catherine Saunders, one of TBG’s newest principals
Be happy about your own life and you’ll be amazed at just how much more beautiful you find it to be.
This idea is one gracefully embodied by TBG’s Director of Marketing Catherine Saunders. She is an encourager and friend to all, and we’re thrilled to celebrate Catherine’s recent promotion to Principal.
journey to landscape architecture
In 2014 Catherine was working at an Austin tech startup with none other than TBG founder Earl Broussard‘s daughter. Her younger sister was actually majoring in Environmental Design at Texas A&M and looking for an internship, so the two introduced her to TBG. During the internship, a job was posted from TBG’s marketing team and Catherine, who was wanting to take a break from the startup atmosphere, heard about the job from her sister. She decided to interview and has been with us ever since!
growing up
Catherine is a true Texan from various parts of the state’s southern region. As a kid she loved the outdoors and spent her time exploring the family ranch, playing basketball, and riding horses. Like most southerners she was involved in 4-H and showed goats, but also had a knack for creative and intellectual activities. She may or may not be a UIL spelling bee champ!
Every summer growing up, Catherine and her family would make the 3-4 day drive up to Alberta, Canada to visit the grandparents. She says some of her fondest memories are in the backseat of her dad’s truck in New Mexico and Montana. In fact, the first Christmas visit to Canada holds a special place in Catherine’s heart. On this specific trip, she and her family took a one-horse open sleigh (I sang that, too) around frozen Lake Louise. She describes the experience as “one of the most calming and serene scenes I’ve experienced.” Witnessing the lake frozen in the winter rather than flowing in the summers was an incredible sight.
defining success & finding inspiration
Success isn’t about a title or money to Catherine, and instead can be characterized in measuring personal contentment. Are you happy with what you’re doing? Are you happy about who you’re doing it with? These are questions the Director of Marketing believes one should ask themselves. She asserts that success is “the feeling of knowing you’re in the right seat with the right people beside you.”
Someone who has played a role in Catherine’s journey to personal contentment is TBG co-founder and recently retired, Tom Afflerbach. She states, “Tom is a master of his craft, while always finding ways to balance it with teaching moments and humor.”
Another TBGer Catherine finds inspiration in is Managing Principal of the San Antonio office, Elaine Kearney. In short, Elaine is “simply a badass,” Catherine proclaims. She looks up to the way Elaine carries herself and her thoughtfulness. “I’ve cherished my conversations with both of them,” she says.
other things to know about Catherine
Q: who’s your celebrity doppelganger?
A: I don’t know that I have a doppelganger per se, but I hear that I remind people of Stevie Bud from Schitt’s Creek and April Ludgate from Parks & Recreation.
Q: describe your design philosophy in two lines.
A: Just start. Then perfect.
Q: if you could live anywhere, where would it be?
A: A remote cabin in the mountains. Lake Tahoe, Wyoming, Montana– all would be amazing.
