Marlene Hild

Midwestern at heart, I was born in central Illinois and spent many holidays with my extended family in Nebraska. My hometown was a small world, but my parents exposed me to the larger world through reading, art, and traveling, from camping in the Wind River Mountains, to seeing the major art museum in every city we visited, to taking me to every midnight Harry Potter book release.

I attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and graduated with a B.A. in Religion and an Interdisciplinary Emphasis in Asian Studies. While there, I participated in the Pac Rim Program, a full-year study abroad program that takes a small group of students on travels across Asia. Going to UPS felt like the turning point in my life.

I then proceeded to learn as many skills and see as many places as possible through my various internships, apprenticeships, and jobs. My passions have taken me all over the world, from the idyllic farms of California to the fiery kitchens of Uruguay. The last five years have been dedicated to my interest in agriculture, cultivating my love of food, community, and planet. 

My most recent accomplishment is thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to raise money for an art gallery being built in memory of my father. I previously hiked the John Muir Trail, which prepared me for the PCT.

I have a lot of thoughts, opinions, and opportunities to listen.

Learn about my projects here.