Karissa Courtney is a researcher at Colorado Forest Restoration Institute focused on reimagining how we live with wildfire by centering equity, community capacity, and collaboration. Her work weaves together ecological science, participatory methods, and critical feminist perspectives to challenge dominant narratives around fire governance and resilience.

She is committed to work that listens deeply, values lived experience, and supports just, place-based solutions. She is especially interested in the ways people care for each other and the land amidst complex environmental change and how they can get the resources they need to do so. 

She holds a B.S. in Ecology from Seattle Pacific University and an M.S. in Ecology (Human Dimensions of Natural Resources) from Colorado State University.