Meet Our Staff

Kristen grew up in Cooperstown, New York with an insatiable craving for the Rocky Mountains and is thrilled to finally be living at their doorstep. Her path to Global Explorers in Fort Collins goes a little something like this:

While earning a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Roger Williams University, Kristen’s desire to explore natural wonders of the world led her overseas. The years she spent studying, living, and traveling in New Zealand and Australia ignited a keen interest in the environmental impacts of tourism. Personal and educational experiences studying ecology and anthropology in the South Pacific changed her view of the travel industry. She became dedicated to finding out how tourism can contribute to environmental and cultural conservation, sustainable community development, and educate travelers. Kristen has contributed to diverse projects working toward these goals with organizations such as the National Parks Conservation Association, Sustainable Travel International, and the Key West Botanical Gardens.

Now completing a master’s degree in Environmental Management at Duke University, Kristen has continued to explore incentive-based conservation strategies and community driven approaches to resolving environmental challenges. She is currently working in collaboration with National Geographic Society on evaluation of Geotourism programs, international and domestic initiatives aimed at sustaining a destination’s environment, culture, and geographical character of a place. She has been fortunate to travel for research in several Geotourism destinations, including recent work in the Douro Valley of Portugal.  Kristen looks forward to a future career in education to inspire environmental ethics and increase understanding of our dependence on natural resources.