Katie K

Katie is originally from the northern suburbs of Chicago but realized early on that her true happy places were in the woods and in the mountains. Her family was always big on outdoor activities like camping and fishing and Katie was no exception. Growing up with three brothers, Katie has been involved in scouting since first grade, starting with girl scouts and riding horses on weekend camping trips. When she turned 14, she realized the Boy Scouts of America had more opportunities for her to be on lengthy, rugged backpacking trips, and so she revived her local co-ed group called Venture Crew with two of her best friends. Through Venture Crew, Katie was able to realize her love of backpacking and the outdoors and was even able to work at Philmont Scout Ranch, a BSA backpacking adventure base in Northern New Mexico, for 5 seasons.

After graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in psychology, Katie decided to try and combine her love of the outdoors with her education and found her way to Elements Wilderness Program. She loves the nomadic method and working with young dudes changing lives and meeting people where they are, not where they “should be.”

Katie enjoys playing music, thrifting, skiing, and going on hikes outside of work (especially at sunrise)! She feels most at home living out of a sleeping bag and cooking on an open fire and hopes to one day take her future dogs hiking with her, but as Katie says, “hopes outside my control.”