Born in California. Raised in Arizona. Put On in the Bay & LA. Dipped my toe in 30+ Countries and lived in 4. Currently call Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica home.

I grew up in a family that seemed to always be road-tripping somewhere. I fell in love with the wide open landscapes and those starry skies I’d gaze at through the car window in the backseat. My grandma was a tour bus driver and used to take me to places like the Grand Canyon at an early age and other epic natural wonders. I’d make up characters for the animals I’d see out there in the wilderness, creating little stories in my head. Those early moments were where my love for adventure first started.

Growing up in Arizona felt like a Magic School Bus episode. We had creatures and crawlers all around; wolves, rattlesnakes, scorpions, spiders, roadrunners, woodpeckers, quail...we had it all. I was fascinated by the desert's nocturnal life and watching the monsoon dust storms float in over the city. We were taught about water and land conservatioon early on in school, a trait I learned later in life was not a norm in most districts/states. This environment also blessed me to grow up with the influence of indigenous wisdom from Navajo, Apache, and Hopi tribes in my communities and the bonus vibrancy of Mexican culture. My food preferences and love of the Spanish language are definitely attributed to these facts.

My first study abroad trip was in seventh grade—I must have been about 12. We traveled from Glendale, Arizona to Catalina Island, California. I’ll never forget trying calamari for the first time on the curious Cali island, being mesmerized by the glow of bioluminescent waters at night, and literally crying when I saw dolphins leaping into the air for the first time. When we came home, I told my mom, I couldn't wait to go on my next trip!

Those early sparks led me on a path to seek out more of the world. I took my first solo trip at 17 to Honolulu, Hawaii. There I got to immerse in polynesian culture and complete service projects working with youth. During my time at ASU, I came across the fields of Anthropology, World Religions and Sociology. Finding out I could study people and cultures as a living felt like I hit the jackpot. I was enthralled by the stories of my professors as they shared first hand accounts of their cultural immersion throughout wonderous places in the world. They shared stories of escavating arts and cultural artifacts to document history, learning new languages, and building friendships with people that came from completely different cultures as them. Naturally, I decided I had no choice but to study abroad.

So then it happened. There I was, a junior in college, taking a plane overseas to spend the next year of my life living in Spain, studying Spanish, art and architecture, and backpacking through Europe. That experience opened up a world of possibility for me as I learned so much about myself, the world, and the possibilities for different ways societies could exist.

After college and my first of two grad degrees, my career took off in experiential education—first leading youth development on a Disney Cruise Ship and then becoming a multi-district-wide Director designing outdoor education and life skill programs for teens, college students, and young professionals. Throughout my career I’ve worked with communities everywhere from urban jungles in California to rural countrysides in Tennessee. I’ve seen first hand how environmental factors such as a person’s zip code can determine their life trajectory. I’ve also witnessed both teens and adults overcome huge challenges, discover their creative genius, and unlock their leadership potential when an environment is created for them to cultivate their gifts and potential, uninterrupted. This became my life's work.

I’ve taken this understanding into my work within the corporate world as well, training teams from small businesses to Fortune 500s. I built a gamified diversity training platform to support this solution and ended up becoming part of the less than 1% of Black women to run a venture-backed tech startup. Data insights from our training participants revealed something I intuitively knew, culture impacts mental health and shared experiences improve culture, thus opportunities to have meaning-making experiences with one another will produce a stronger sense of belonging thus positively increase mental health and retention of top talent. I knew the virtual space could never fully substitute the impact of real world experiences however, so I set out on a journey to bring my biggest dream to life.

This is how I came to create Infinityland—an experiential learning company that mixes adventure, arts & culture, wellness, and service to inspire personal growth with real-world experiences. The hope of our work is to help people lead healthier, happier, and more connected lives—by touching grass.

My background blends anthropology, sociology, international and multicultural education, human-centered design, and entrepreneurship, with a dash of neuroscience for good measure. But honestly? Life has been my greatest teacher. Along the way, I’ve picked up some incredible insights from my travels. Learning new cultures, customs, values, and ways of life, heavily shape how I design each Infinityland experience from programming to architectural design.

My work, blending education, design, business, and the arts, has been recognized by organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Forbes, SXSW, the Aspen Institute, Techstars, NAACP and even Beyoncé’s BeyGood Foundation. I’ve been honored to contribute to creative movements and spaces like SOMArts & Cultural Center and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as well.

I hold an M.S. in Integrated Design, Business, & Technology from USC, an M.A. in Teaching Social Science from USC, and a B.A. in Sociology from ASU. My toolkit also a multimedia art practice in AI, AR, photography, and video.

With over 3 decades here on earth thus far, I’ve traveled to over 30 countries—everywhere from Iceland to India, Morocco to Mexico, Turkey to Thailand—and I’m nowhere near done. Many of these adventures have been solo, so I’ve gained a deep understanding of how to create safe, enriching, and life-changing experiences that engage all the senses. I’ve lived abroad in Asia, Europe, and now, Central America in the vibrant Afro-Caribbean community of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.

I’m looking for partners to help scale this vision—expanding Infinityland’s programs and development of our arts and technology center. Interested in creating something extraordinary together? Reach out at Kristina@toinfinityland.com.