Prescribed Fire Projects Coordinator Karyn Smoot, who uses they/she pronouns, was born in San Francisco and grew up appreciating the flora and fauna found in and around the city. After studying ethnic studies, environmental studies and Chinese in college, they spent nine years as a worker-owner at Rainbow Grocery Cooperative and an organizer against displacement. Karyn started their fire journey by attending prescribed fire training exchange (TREX) events, burning with the Good Fire Alliance, and interning at Santa Rosa Junior College's Wildfire Resiliency Program. Before joining Fire Forward, they worked as a traveling crew member on The Nature Conservancy's Prescribed Fire Modules on burns in Idaho, Georgia, and New Mexico. More recently, Karyn has helped develop and lead chainsaw trainings and introductory fire workshops for Queer and BIPOC stewards, working to increase access to these valuable skills.
With deep family roots in California, she has found purpose in understanding and stewarding the landscapes that sustained her ancestors for four generations, and California Native peoples since time immemorial. As an uninvited guest on these lands, Karyn hopes to practice stewardship in solidarity with indigenous communities who are reclaiming and restoring lands locally and around the world.