Karen Finley

Karen Finley grew up fourth-generation in Colorado Springs. Now she lives in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, full of oak trees, fir forests, and wet soils. Ever since her 20s, grasslands and agriculture have been in her heart and at the heart of things. After time in Salina, Karen moved to her farm in Western Oregon and went on to study and work on prairie grassland soils, plants, and Swainson’s hawks. She caught a couple of swarms of bees in graduate school and ended up running a commercial beekeeping business (5000 hives, 10 employees, 30 years). Karen was an all-around intern at The Land Institute, living with a gang on Magnolia Road. They had a blast and remain lifelong friends.

My most perennial trait is Connection – I like connecting with people and figuring out how to do things.

Check out Karen’s beekeeping work at Queen Bee Honey Co.

1988 Intern at The Land Institute