Kate Rowland is a Chattanooga native who grew up in the Hixson area. Her father spent his entire career as a Chattanooga police officer, and she credits him with teaching her the city from the inside — its neighborhoods, its people, and the pride locals take in it. She attended St. Jude Elementary and graduated from Notre Dame High School, then earned her nursing degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga by way of Chattanooga State.
Before escape rooms, Kate spent nearly 11 years as a Level 1 Trauma ICU nurse at Erlanger Hospital in downtown Chattanooga — work that demands calm under pressure, fast decisions, and constant clear communication with a team. If that sounds like the exact skill set for running high-stakes group events, it's not a coincidence.
In 2020, Kate married Escape Experience founder Michael Rowland and they started a family — two daughters. With COVID shutting down in-person games while she was pregnant, Kate stepped away from nursing and into the business, setting up and booking the live virtual escape room events and remote corporate events that carried Escape Experience through the lockdown years.
When the couple moved to Nashville to reopen the Nashville location after the shutdown, Kate ran the venue as its manager — hiring and training the new team from scratch. Today she helps manage the staff at both the Nashville and Chattanooga locations and serves as Escape Experience's Event Coordinator, planning and organizing team outings and group events of every size, from a two-room office outing to full-venue corporate buyouts.
Away from the rooms, Kate loves the beach, camping, and quality time with her husband and two daughters.
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Areas of Expertise
- Corporate and group event planning
- Virtual and remote corporate events
- Staff hiring and training
- Birthday and bachelorette parties
- Chattanooga and Nashville group activities