Kara has been working in the counseling field for over 8 years. She joined the NSA team after working with adolescents at an alternative high school, where she designed and implemented a visual art program. This multi-faceted program included art class, art therapy groups and individual art therapy sessions. She also has experience in many therapeutic disciplines including solution-focused, cognitive behavioral, and peer-support bereavement counseling.

Fostering the creativity of the students she works with is essential to her approach. She is inspired by the strength, resiliency and creativity of the kids she works with. Kara has a passion for visual arts and received a BFA in painting in 2001 from Pacific Northwest College of Art and an MA in Art Therapy Counseling in 2007 from Marylhurst University.

An avid outdoorswoman, Kara holds Advanced Wilderness First Aide, CPR, and Technical Ropes Rescue: Operations Level certifications. Bringing the natural world into the therapeutic realm is a natural synthesis for her. When she is not backpacking with teenagers, Kara can be found in her art studio, or (more likely) surfing the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.