Meet Kathryn Klein
Leader, Mentor, Mother
Kathryn (Katy) Klein, co-owner of Hood River Cherry Company, has been in the agricultural industry for over thirty years. Raised in Hood River, she was practically born into orcharding and today, grows and produces the sweetest, best tasting cherries available in the Northwest.
As a trailblazer herself, she is excited to see more women join the industry and views her role at Hood River Cherry Company (HRCC) as an opportunity to make room for and support them.
"Those of us who’ve been in the business for a while have a chance to mentor and support young women just joining," Katy says.
Some see being a small, woman-led, family-owned orchard as a challenge. For Katy, it's an advantage.
"It's incredibly rewarding working side-by-side with my family every day. . . tackling projects with my daughter, watching my granddaughter grow day by day as she runs in and out of the office, and spending quality time with my husband doing the thing we love most: growing exceptional cherries. I love it."
Because HRCC is a family-owned orchard, Katy feels privileged to know and be able to invest in her employees' lives:
"Many of our workers have been with us for decades and have harvested with us year after year. After that long, they feel like family. We are so grateful to be able to watch their children grow up and share in special events like family birthday parties and graduations."
Katy and Brad planted their first cherry tree in 1993, the same day their youngest son was born. Since then, they've grown to 375 acres of sweet cherries."
"I love what we do and the happiness we bring to people's lives through our delicious cherries—we’re so excited to be planting even more!"