Kirstie was born in New Jersey in the Watchung Mountains. Every summer, her family traveled to Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, for a technology-free vacation on an island in the middle of the lake. She spent warm summer days kayaking, riding the speedboat through "the broads," tubing, canoeing and hiking. Her mother had a strong influence on Kirstie's love for nature, sharing moments on the dock, in the garden and searching for birds. And when she wasn't enjoying time with her mother, Kirstie would ride on the back of her father's motorcycle through the Watchung Mountains.

Kirstie has a bachelor's degree in English from Wingate University in North Carolina. While enrolled, she worked as a teaching assistant for both the honors program director and a sociology professor. A true nerd, she also worked in the university library, which inspired her to pursue her master’s degree in library and information science from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Kirstie has traveled throughout the East Coast and Alaska. International trips have taken her to England, Ireland and Nazaré, Portugal, where her fiancée proposed. Her travels with Nat Hab include a trip to Churchill, Manitoba, to see wild polar bears.

An avid reader, Kirstie collects special editions. She loves nothing more than reading outside—there is nothing like hiking to new surroundings and settling in with a good book!