Justine (she/her/hers) grew up in New York, splitting her childhood years between Brooklyn and the Catskill Mountains. She received her Bachelor of Science in the Evolutionary Biology of the Human Species from Columbia University, where her studies focused primarily on evolutionary psychology and sociobiology.

After graduating college, Justine took time away from academia by spending five months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. It was during this time that she rekindled her childhood passion for the outdoors and love of backpacking. While hiking, she came to understand how time spent outside can have a deeply meaningful and empowering impact on an individual’s life. She finished the trail with greater resilience, renewed confidence, and a strong passion to share the lessons she learned while hiking with others. Since then, she has worked as a wilderness guide, trip leader, and outdoor educator for a number of different organizations across the Northeast.

Justine joined True North, where she was able to combine her academic background in psychology with her life passion for the outdoors. She spent a year guiding, during which she found great meaning working alongside students in a therapeutic environment. As a Field Director, Justine educates and inspires the next generation of guides to be thoughtful, intentional, and compassionate leaders for students. Justine spends any free time she has outside, be it hiking in the Green Mountains, paddling in her canoe, or curled up in a hammock.