Bio

As the youngest of 8 in a single parent home, in her attempt to find solace, Kathleen developed a love for the outdoors & self sufficiency at a very young age. Raised in the open expanse of the Montana landscape, free to explore unencumbered, she learned to appreciate the plants & creatures that surrounded her. Curious about all things nature, bugs, wildlife and science. Teaching herself to catch fish & hunt rabbits in elementary school. Kathleen still retains that deep passion for scientific learning even today. 

Wanting to explore, Kathleen packed up at 18 & moved to Washington state. Where she worked to put herself through college. During her 20s, She could be found with fishing pole in hand trudging along in the mountains surrounding Seattle, hiking & mountain biking. After graduating, she threw a dart at a map & heading to the wilds of Colorado to explore further. She found herself lost on the trials, distracted by nature or freshly fallen snow covering her way. Always making new friends to get herself rescued.

Kathleen returned to Puget Sound for grad school. Shortly after completing her first year, her plans interrupted by her desire to deal with mounting student loans & that outward personality leading her into the field of medical sales. Where she enjoyed a successful clinical diagnostic sales career & remained a top performer for 18 years. Her intense schedule taking her further into the beauty of Alaska & Oregon. Meeting her husband and starting their family, with too much work and little time for nature, she would often squeeze in business travel coupled with nature excursions with her young family.

Yearning for balance and having seen the negative effects of our broken food system on public health. Kathleen decided to follow her passions, taking a break to become a master gardener and rehabilitate a 100yr old historic farm with her first responder husband. She spent the next five years collaborating with local partners to learn regenerative agriculture practices, humane animal husbandry & building an organic farm outreach model in her community of Gig Harbor.

The focus of their farm (RoseOrchards/WillaBella Farm) is rooted in the concept of healthy communities, research based education, teaching youth science classes, advocating for small farmers, conservation efforts & helping lead various food system projects. She has worked with local government & agri-partners to launch a community farmers market, a buy local program, help with farmland conservation, serves on multiple boards & volunteers for various community outreach projects.

Now in her mid 50s, Kathleen has entered the era of teens prepping for college and her husband approaching retirement after 30 years in public service. She has recently returned to fulltime medical sales in the Animal Health industry, forcing her to cut back on her community outreach work for the time being. She continues to manage stress through growing organic food for neighbors, her love for the many animals & creatures on her farm, writing, reading endless science and spending as much time as possible immersed in the beautiful Puget Sound nature with her family!