Karrie graduated in 2008 with a degree in Mathematics from Earlham College and found a job researching in Cornell University’s Space Sciences Department. She worked for a year, and then felt compelled to move outdoors. In June 2009, Karrie set out to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia, and five months later accomplished her goal. Fueled by the experience, Karrie and seven friends took to canoes in 2010, and traveled the Mississippi River from Minnesota to New Orleans. They created a charity called “Paddle to Haiti” and were able to donate over $13,500 to a grassroots non-profit on Haitian soil. Working on and off to support these trips, Karrie ultimately jumped at the chance to combine work and play and began working in conservation, joining a Colorado trail crew in 2011. By 2012, she had also worked on two sustainable farms, as a mechanic for her family’s business, and as a teacher. But when Spring rolled around, it was time to go again and in September 2012, Karrie and her partner Jake finished hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.
Now, Karrie is excited to be back in Pennsylvania, her stomping grounds. This year she is Group Against Smog and Pollution’s SCA Green Cities Fellow. And next year? Well, we’ll just have to see!
