Katia Hadjiyska, Principal Broker/Owner of EnCourage Realty, serves a discerning clientele in the purchase, sale, leasing and investing in Houston’s finest properties. With over a decade in the real estate business, Katia’s team sells and refers $10’s of millions of real estate annually, helping hundreds of clients fulfill their dream lifestyles.
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Katia is a Bulgarian-American businesswoman, real estate broker, international affairs reporter, producer, actress, humanitarian and former tennis player. Katia spent a decade as a competitive tennis player followed by nearly a decade in a variety of corporate positions including Management Consulting, Real Estate, Mass Media, Language Services, Behavioral Coaching, and Academia, prior to founding EnCourage Companies, a conglomerate of businesses ranging from management consulting, coaching and mentoring (EnCourage Group) to real estate (EnCourage Realty) and non-profits (EnCourage Foundation), all dedicated to empowering people and organizations globally.
Contribution
Philanthropically, Katia is an avid supporter of education, entrepreneurship, and world peace and prosperity. Katia serves as President of EnCourage Foundation, supporting education and the practice of entrepreneurship.
Katia served as President & Chair of the 2013 Celebration of Entrepreneurship Gala held at the Petroleum Club of Houston, Advisory Committee Member of the Houston International Trade Development Councils’ Annual Global Seven ‘G7’ Awards, Co-Chair of the 2018 Humanitarian Awards benefitting the Latino Learning Center, Board of Directors Member of Americle Foundation, Business Development Committee Chair of LiftFund YPB, Education Committee Member of World Refugee Day–Houston, Business Plan Mentor for the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, Houston Food Bank Volunteer, Goodspero Benefactor, and as a Publicist to William W. Sherrill–former Federal Reserve Governor, FDIC Director, and U.S. Commissioner to UNESCO. In 2013 Katia traveled to Madagascar to visit Akany Avoko Children’s Home and has acted as a Benefactor for Nourish the Children, Children International and Texas Children’s Hospital.
Katia has served as a pro bono business consultant to start-ups and small businesses, as a guest lecturer at young professionals groups and organizations, and has been a member of the World Affairs Council of Houston Council Cabinet, Greater Houston Partnership and Petroleum Club of Houston.
Mass Media – Producer/Reporter/Actress
Katia interviews Ambassadors and Consul Generals as a Contributing Reporter for International Focus ‘iF’ Magazine’s monthly cover story, discussing international relations and highlighting the interviewees’ personal and professional experiences.
Katia appeared in the film The Last Astronaut (2019) starring as Charlie, a Collective Intelligence Android, in the film Strange Bird (2017) starring as Dr. Zara Yorgov, a Psychiatrist and in the film Toxin (2015) starring as Military Captain Alexandra Hendricks.
Katia served as a Board of Directors Member of Americle Foundation, acting as an Associate Producer of a full-length motion picture aiming to promote the mitigation of radical extremism.
Education & Certifications
Katia earned two Bachelor of Business Administration degrees, one in Finance from the Global Energy Management Institute and one in Entrepreneurship from the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business, completing both with the highest scholastic honors Summa Cum Laude 4.0/4.0 G.P.A., while working full-time.
Katia holds certificates in Corporate Entrepreneurship and Global Energy Management from University of Houston, an HBX CORe Certificate from Harvard Business School, and a Stanford Advanced Project Management Professional Certificate from Stanford University.
Katia serves as Principal Broker/Owner of EnCourage Realty and obtained a Real Estate Salesperson License in 2010 and subsequently a Real Estate Broker License from the Texas Real Estate Commission. Katia is a Master Certified Negotiation Expert (MCNE®), a designation obtained though the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, e-PRO® Certified and REALTOR® member of the Houston, Texas and National Associations of Realtors.
Katia is a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner and has immersed herself in personal development teachings from Dr. John Demartini, Anthony Robbins, Ryan Foley, Dale Carnegie, and more, and is a proponent of the Be.Do.Have.Give. philosophy both in her personal and professional life.
Katia studied Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles, California and obtained her PADI Open Water Diver scuba diving certification in 2017.
Recognition
Katia is a recipient of the Houston Business Journal 2015 40 Under 40 Honorable Mention Recognition, University of Houston Presidential Summa Cum Laude 4.0 G.P.A. Graduate Recognition and Bauer College of Business Alumni Association Distinguished Leader Award.
Personal Life
Katia enjoys global travel, having visited 30+ countries, visual and performing arts, wellness and nutrition, business, education, personal development, building and maintaining meaningful and authentic relationships, growth and contribution.
