Micaela Kostecka, marketing director at commercial real estate brokerage Kiemle Hagood, is focused on evolving the Spokane-based company's traditional marketing practices to better reflect today's digital landscape.

"I'm obsessed with taking a brand, a company, an industry, and finding the unique angle of the company I'm working with ... and helping the world to see the reality of what they are contributing to society," Kostecka says. "That is my true passion."

Her responsibilities span from digital strategy, social media, and public relations, to creative direction, internal communications, and automating marketing workflows across the brokerage's offices in Spokane; Coeur d'Alene; Tri-Cities; and Missoula, Montana.

Kostecka acknowledges that her path to becoming a marketing director wasn’t a traditional one. After graduating from Mount Spokane High School in 2016, she attended multiple colleges where she earned both track and field and cross-country scholarships, and studied art, design, and branding — her early passions.

To support herself while attending classes at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Kostecka held a variety of part-time positions, including barista, bartender, and bookkeeper at a flooring company. She also provided freelance graphic design on the side.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kostecka shifted her academic plans and career goals. Rather than finishing school, she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps in the real estate industry.

“I had an opportunity to study and get my real estate license, which is something that had always been in the back of my mind,” Kostecka says. “My dad was a real estate agent at the time, and I had an opportunity to work alongside him and learn the industry.”

She worked for multiple real estate agencies before landing at Kiemle Hagood, including Citibrokers and NAI Black.

“I was trying to buy a house and so I got a position at NAI Black, working half the day as an administrative assistant … and then the other half as a social media manager,” Kostecka says.

In 2023, Kostecka was offered a position at Kiemle Hagood.

“They were looking to modernize their existing marketing practices,” she says. “I had the background and the experience in commercial real estate.”

Casey Brazil, vice president and chief operating officer at Kiemle Hagood, who nominated Kostecka as a 2025 Rising Star, says he was immediately impressed with her skills.

“When she started, we saw within her a ton of creativity and then execution,” Brazil says. “She jumped in, helped get things done, and really has brought a new eye to things that we might not normally look at. The stuff that she comes up with is amazing. From marketing property to marketing the company and different departments, she truly is somebody that represents a Rising Star.”

Brazil adds that it’s important to keep young professionals, like Kostecka, in Spokane.

“We want to keep people like her in our community and not let them take off and go to Seattle,” he says.

Outside of work, Kostecka says she's deeply invested in Spokane’s creative and civic future. She has applied to volunteer at Spokane-based nonprofit Terrain and Spokane Arts and has applied to serve on the city of Spokane’s Design Review Board, Arts Commission, and Human Rights Commission.

“I am driven by a desire to help shape a more creative, inclusive, and human-centered future for our city,” she says.

Kostecka credits her father — a teacher, coach, and real estate investor — as her greatest mentor throughout her life.

“My dad was always very intentional about mentoring me and instilling this inherent belief in my own value and potential,” she says. “When I look back at my journey … throughout college and my career, I really credit him for a lot of the internal belief that I’m worthy of achieving things, and completely able to sustain the hard work that it requires."

For beginners in marketing or those entering the real estate industry, Kostecka emphasizes that people don't need a formal education or approval to begin learning the principles and practical skills of marketing.

“You do not need permission or structured education to start absorbing the philosophies or learning the hard skills of marketing (digital or traditional), photography, videography, graphic design, or social media,” Kostecka asserts. “Inspiration is everywhere. Knowledge, courses, and tutorials are abundant online, especially on Skillshare or YouTube in 2025. Get scrappy. Be resourceful."