DEVELOPING LEADER ALISON BROWN KI

If you won the lottery tomorrow, where would we find you and what would you be doing? If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would take my family on an extended vacation, but I would come back to work with KI because I love my job. I also would start a pet rescue because of my love of animals and especially my dogs, Lily and Goose.

What do you enjoy most about your work? I enjoy being able to completely change the look and feel of a space by installing new furniture. I get to use my passion for interior design while working with some really amazing clients to transform their space.

Where were you born? I was born in Mansfield, Massachusetts a small town about 30 miles south of Boston. We moved to Longwood, Florida, when I was nine.

Where did you go to school? After graduation from Lake Mary High School, I entered Florida State University graduating with a degree in interior design.

Tell us about your family. My boyfriend, Marc, and I own a home together with our two fur children, Lily and Goose. They go with us everywhere and on any given weekend you can most likely find us on the boat at Fort George.

How long have you been in Jacksonville? I moved to Jacksonville in 2015 and I still believe it was the best decision I ever made.

How long have you been in the real estate industry? I am not directly in the real estate industry, but working for a commercial furniture manufacturer I work closely daily with the real estate industry.

What was your first or worst job? My first job was in college working at The Polka Dot Press, a custom stationary/ gift store in Tallahassee. It was then that I realized working in sales wasn’t as scary as I thought. I got to interact with customers daily designing their custom bridal invitations and printable material for all types of events.

If you could talk to your 17-yearold self, what advice would give them? If I could talk to my 17-year-old self I would say to stay positive. I was not the strongest student in school, my parents could agree. My brother was the one that always had the perfect report card. I was the student that enjoyed lunch and cheerleading more than my core classes. A gift that my mom said I had from a young age was that I never met a stranger. She would joke that she couldn’t go to Publix without me knowing someone. I never knew that gift would lead me into sales. Looking back, just because I wasn’t a straight-A student didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to succeed within my career.