Barrington resident Kate Fanselow absolutely loves where she lives. A transplant from Silicon Valley, she and her family moved to the suburb in 2013 without knowing a single person in the area. “I was instantly charmed by the town and the warm, quintessentially Midwest feel,” she says. “I immediately wanted to be a part of the community. I practically wore a sandwich board outside the library with ‘BE MY FRIEND’ on it.”

Starting a new career at 38 is not for the faint-hearted—but Fanselow says nothing prepares you for a real estate career quite like being a stay-at-home mom to toddlers and babies. “Your life is not your own. Every minute someone needs something from you, and the moment you finally sit down or relax, BAM! You’re needed,” she shares. “The spontaneity and demand it takes to be a good mother prepared me for my clients.”

Customers say Fanselow is like a breath of fresh air. “I go above and beyond, and I am a true fighter for every client,” she says. “I think my best attribute, though, is that I empathize with what they’re going through and I listen to what they need. Not what I think they need, but really listening, understanding and putting myself in their shoes.”

With limited inventory in the area, Fanselow and her team have had to get creative to get the job done. The highlight of her career was closing a five-sided deal earlier this year, all on the same day. “It was absolutely bananas,” she admits. “But we all worked together, as a team, to get the deals together and closed.”

Fanselow is a Platinum Sales award-winner with Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, as well as a NSBAR top 1% agent for sales production in the Northwest region. “I am passionate about improving my community by doing my best for the people in it,” she says. “They all drive me to be better … to work harder. And, when I fail, to pull myself up by my bootstraps and do it again.”