Katie Shepherd Christiansen

Katie is an artist, writer, and naturalist-awareness guide inspired by the wild world. She is founder of Coyote Art & Ecology, an interdisciplinary human-nature storytelling firm that works with nonprofits, governmental agencies, community groups, and corporations to inspire meaningful connection to the natural world and one’s self through collaborative conservation, education, and art initiatives. She is also the Executive Director of the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative (Jackson, WY), formerly the organization’s Artist-in-Residence. Katie holds an MA in Environmental Management from Yale’s School of the Environment, where she studied as a Wyss Conservation Scholar for the American West.

Katie is editor and illustrator of the book The Artist's Field Guide to Yellowstone. Informed by her studies of contemplative practices and philosophy, Katie grounds her artwork and writings in themes of mindfulness, self-awareness, and harmony with the natural world. Katie’s art and writing appear in books, galleries, and outdoor exhibits across the intermountain West. She has worked in collaboration with institutions including the National Endowment for the Arts, Ucross Foundation, Jackson Hole Public Art, the City of Bozeman, and National Geographic. Above all, Katie’s most beloved role is as the mother to her two young children. She lives with her family in the mountains of Colorado where together they explore the West’s vast wildlands.