In the U.S., she has handled the full cycle of residential real estate — from single-family homes to condominiums — including acquisition, rental management, renovation, and resale, with combined managed and owned assets valued at over USD 85 million. She also holds multiple licenses issued by the State of Florida spanning real estate brokerage, property management, and residential construction.

As a teenager, she lived in Isesaki, Gunma as a Rotary Youth Exchange student, and later worked in Tokyo and as a bilingual business liaison between a Japanese parent company and its U.S. partners — building a lasting connection to Japan.

While the name “Tsubomi” means “flower bud” in Japanese, reflecting the company’s own beginnings and its outlook for growth in the Japanese real estate market. But deeper than that Tsubomi pays tribute two special people who were instrumental in Kristen’s early days in Japan. Tsubo comes from Mr. Tsubota, Kristen’s first and favorite boss while working in Japan. In addition, Tsubo represents a traditional means to measure the size of homes and land. Mi pays tribute to Kristen’s host Mom Miyoko who tirelessly spent so much time teaching Kristen to love and understand Japanese culture. Tsubomi represents a flower bud, but it also represents two special people in my life and it represents Beautiful Spaces – something which has been the focus of Kristen’s creative and entrepreneurial efforts for so many years.