Born in Santa Monica (a few miles from TortoiseLand) and raised in coastal Orange County, Karen spent her childhood tending her family’s menagerie: two dogs, four cats, two parakeets, six rabbits, a chicken, a hamster, 17 rats, a box turtle, and a tortoise named Elmer. She spent summers bodysurfing at the local beach and backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, cementing a lifelong love of the outdoors and a strong drive to protect animals and their habitats. In high school, Karen served as the student representative to the Board of Directors of her 500-student alternative school. After graduating from UC Berkeley, Karen worked in academic publishing before transitioning to technical writing. Her 35-year career has included working for Autodesk, Apple, Adobe and currently Symantec. In 2004 Karen was appointed to her local public library’s Board of Directors, where she served two four-year terms. In recent years she has extended her frequent pet-sitting gigs to fostering dogs and cats for several Bay Area animal rescue organizations.