Kathleen Mawhinney was born in Auburn, Alabama and grew up in NE Georgia. Throughout her childhood she could be found wandering the woods, camping, fishing, and playing with family and friends. She always knew she wanted to be an educator; just ask her first students (aka stuffed animals). It wasn't until High Schools when her family visited the Grand Canyon that she realized there were jobs that allowed someone to just teach environmental/outdoor education. She met a ranger K.T. who inspired her greatly. After that, Kathleen got her Biology Degree at North Georgia College & State University. She started working for Colorado Parks and Wildlife as a temporary studying Gunnison and Greater Sage Grouse in 2003. In 2005, she landed a permanent job with the agency and her dream job in 2008 as the NW Education & Hunter Outreach Coordinator. She thinks its fantastic and rewarding that her job gets to teach and mentor the message of conservation to educators and students. In her spare time she still loves to play! She loves anything water related, fly fishing, hunting, archery, cycling, family time, and camping. She has also become a baseball mom to her min-me daughter (13 going on 30) who makes her more proud everyday!