Growing up without her father, Catrina turned to gang life to fill the void in her life. She spent her youth using drugs and being in abusive relationships. In rehab, as an adult, she discovered AA, developed relationships with other people in recovery and found the spirituality that has kept her at peace in recovery.  She knew she wanted to help people who were going through similar life challenges.

Cat became certified as a CCAR coach so that she could devote herself to others and walk beside them as a HardBeauty peer recovery coach.