co-founder and teacher

(Kath-ree-nuh or just Kat)

I live in the Knolls neighborhood at the east end of Simi Valley with my husband and two children. When we moved here we were absolutely stunned by the local landscape—the giant sandstone boulders and caves, the ancient valley oaks, the vernal pools—and we feel blessed to be able to keep discovering new things within a few miles of our home.

My love of nature was cultivated in the Pacific Northwest where I grew up. I spent my summers learning how to fish and catch crawdads with my Dad and picking blackberries with my Mom. Swimming in very cold water, being pricked by blackberry bushes, getting muddy and scraping my knees on tree bark—these experiences gave me a resilience I have carried into adulthood.

I came to Southern California in 2006 where I attended Art Center College of Design. I spent the next decade of my life building a successful career as a commercial photographer. Throughout this time I slowly became acquainted with the landscapes of Southern California. When I met my husband we bonded over our love of the outdoors and challenged each other to grow our knowledge and relationship to the natural world. We started with a small community garden plot. Then we took foraging classes and started raising chickens.

When I gave birth to my first child I knew quickly that I wanted to give him an experience akin to what I had growing up, and with that the idea of Wild Kin Forest School was also born.

That was in 2021, and since then I have studied early childhood education through UCLA extension, and was also trained in forest school pedagogy by the Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers. This is a rigorous program run by teachers from the oldest forest kindergarten in the country. It was there that I met my co-founder and dear friend Lindsay whom I later worked with at EverWild LA. While at EverWild I lead a class of children ages 3-8 while immersed in an incredible community of outdoor educators. In hindsight meeting Lindsay feels like kismet, as we share backgrounds in art, our mutual love of the wild, and now have daughters who were born just one week apart.

I’m excited to bring Forest School to our neighborhood. I’m deeply moved to do this work because, for one, it helps inform my own skills as a mother and a naturalist. And second, I’m hoping to help grow a local community of like-minded families who’d love to see their children build confidence, resilience and life-long relationships with the plants and animals of their local landscapes. To see the wild as our kin!

Co-founder and teacher

I grew up in Wisconsin in a family that loved and respected the outdoors. Nature was my touchstone throughout my childhood and where I felt completely at ease.

I moved to the West Coast in 2007 to attend Pepperdine University. I received my Bachelor’s in Fine Arts in 2011 and launched into a career as an artist in LA’s bustling creative scene. My connection to Southern California’s natural surroundings kept me centered throughout the pursuit of stability and success within an unruly and competitive arts arena.

Since 2011, I have brought murals, portraiture, and youth education to Mexico, Kenya, Alaska, and Los Angeles. My work is dedicated to social and environmental justice and resilience. Community engagement and collaboration are its foundation. The drawings and murals I create are a vibrant ode to the spirit of this planet and tell a story brimming with hope.

I split my time between Los Angeles and Alaska, where I work as an artist in residence with US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska’s 16 National Wildlife Refuges. Experience in the wilderness, coupled with creativity and working with youth of different backgrounds has fed my strong commitment to the earth and future generations. My career in forest school began with EverWild Los Angeles, as a mentor, rite of passage leader, and program manager. I met Kat at training with Academy of Forest Kindergarten Teachers, and we became fast friends, sharing values, drive and motherhood aspirations. I am a mother to Colibrí, and I’m committed to fostering strength, resolve and love in children through place-based, nature-connected teaching.