A Wild Hare: Finding the Life I Imagined

Siffy Torkildson is a geographer who has lived and worked in six states, Canada, Madagascar and Germany over the past thirty years. She holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in geography from Humboldt State University in California, as well as a M.S. in geographic information science from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. She has worked at two science museums; an international mapping firm; for several U.S. government agencies, including the Forest Service, Peace Corps, and Environmental Protection Agency; in juvenile corrections; and as a teacher, writer and editor. Torkildson has presented at several Association of American Geographer’s international conferences. Torkildson’s research and specialties include environmental science, in particular sea level rise, water resources, bio-fuels, and light pollution; cartography and GIS; and the history of women in exploration. She wrote her thesis on Annie S. Peck, a pioneering female mountaineer in South America. Torkildson has practiced Korean Kwan Um Zen Buddhism for several years. She has studied kung fu and the healing art of Qigong for over a decade. Her next journey will take her on a sacred pilgrimage around the world with her husband Tor Torkildson.