Kirsten grew up in New England and moved to Colorado to attend the University of Denver. Her love of skiing and the mountains led her to her new home in Crested Butte, CO where she lived for 30+ years. Kirsten worked the full gamut of “resort” jobs but found a real passion in her work at the Adaptive Sports Center (ASC), an organization that provides recreation for people with disabilities and their families. As a sibling of a brother with disabilities, it was a perfect combination of her life experience and her love of skiing. Kirsten wore many hats at the ASC as the program grew over the years, including being responsible for developing curriculum and implementing training courses for instructors and volunteers. She also achieved a number of certifications necessary to be a part of the education team at PSIA-RM where she also spent several years on the committee and as committee chair. Through this work she was also able to travel to places such as Alaska, Idaho,  Scotland, Austria, and Argentina, where she helped facilitate the growth of adaptive sports programs and develop curriculum for instructor education and certification courses. Kirsten was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame for Disabled Sports USA.

Kirsten is also known in her community for her extensive activism. In the early 90’s she worked with Colorado’s Ancient Forest Rescue (AFR) which aimed to protect old growth forests and roadless areas, through education, litigation, and non-violent civil disobedience. Her forest activism also took her to the coast of BC where she participated in a two-month kayak expedition on behalf of the Native Forest Network , documenting forest destruction and photographing vast areas of untouched forests slated for the chopping block to raise awareness through education. Her environmental activism also led her to working in the San Luis Valley in the town of San Luis. In the mountains there , known as La Sierra, she helped create a years long campaign to stop a massive logging project on private land, then known as the Taylor Ranch. What they discovered there was a long history of culture and land rights struggles. Kirsten along with fellow activists formed long lasting alliances with farmers, ranchers, and Chicano activists in this struggle for environmental justice. She continues her alliances in San Luis through her work with Move Mountains Youth Leaders. She has since been involved in a multitude of campaigns working towards environmental and social justice in alliance with BIPOC organizations. For example, during the pandemic she helped to form the Colorado Navajo Resiliency Project, securing and delivering much needed supplies for short term needs and water vessels to aid in long term food sovereignty.

Kirsten recently moved down from 9,000 feet to warmer climes with her husband Heath and their small herd of horses. She is enjoying living in Montrose, in a climate where they can grow fruit and vegetables and there’s a lot less shoveling! She’s excited to be in her new role of Lead Community Organizer the Western Slope, for the Civic Outreach Team.