All Team Members

Kate Leaf

Kate grew up exploring Boulder’s beautiful backyard, which gave her an appreciation for the outdoors from a young age. She has a B.A. in English from Colorado College and a M.A. in Education and Human Development from CU Denver. For the last ten years, Kate has been working as an educator in a variety of capacities from teaching environmental education in California’s San Bernardino Mountains to her current role teaching social studies at a public Denver high school. Her favorite year of teaching occurred at an international school in Queretaro, Mexico, where she fell in love with Mexico’s incredible people and places. All of her favorite professional experiences have occurred when she can take students outside the four classroom walls to engage with the world and society in authentic ways. When not in the classroom, Kate spends her time either curled up with a good book and her dog or out and about in the outdoors. She recently bought a paddle board and loved taking it out on Colorado’s lakes last summer. This is her first year leading for Global Works and she can’t wait to meet her students nor to get the adventure started in Costa Rica.


Where did you grow up?
Boulder, Colorado

Where do you call home now?
Denver, Colorado

Year started at Global Works?
2023

What’s your favorite part about leading trips?
Getting to see students’ horizons expand as they meet new people and experience new places. I also love the silly banter that inevitably arises on long trips with a group.

What’s something you can’t live without while you are traveling?
A good book and my portable watercolors.

Tell us about a favorite memory from a trip you have taken
So tough to choose! I through-hiked the Colorado Trail several years ago and getting to stare down at the town of Durango after 450+ miles of hiking was incredibly empowering. Turns out we can do a lot with time and our two feet.

Where is your favorite place you have traveled to?
Glacier National Park and Mexico City are top places I keep returning to

Fun fact, special talent, or favorite memory
I drove 49-passenger boats in Glacier National Park as a summer job and was US Coast Guard-certified on the flat waters of Montana!

What do you like to do in your free time?
I’m a total bookworm and love to read and write. I also love spending time outside with my partner and dog– running, backpacking, and skiing are some favorites.

What languages do you speak?
English, Spanish

If you had to give one piece of advice or words of encouragement to someone on their first travel experience, what would it be?
Find people who share your sense of humor and keep them close in your travel adventures. When things get tiring or rough, humor– especially gentle laughing at yourself– is the best medicine.