Chelsea was born and raised in St. Louis, MO where she spent her childhood playing lots of soccer and climbing too many trees. Her passion for microfinance began years ago with a copy of Banker to the Poor and a subsequent 2500-mile trek to southern Belize to co- establish a small microlending group. She has a BS in Marketing and a BA in Spanish from Butler University, another one of those Midwestern towns with a penchant for championship basketball. After graduation, she moved to Dallas through Teach For America where she taught third graders about solar systems, multiplication, and entrepreneurship. Two years of seeing the potential of malleable young minds (and eating a substantial number of pupusas en route) led Chelsea to her current course of study at Washington University in St. Louis. She’s currently halfway through pursuing an MSW in Social and Economic Development. Thus far, she’s been lucky to spend six months at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis learning about the intricacies of community development on a macro scale. She cannot wait to take her academic training, professional development, and personal curiosity to help make St. Louis a stronger destination for Kiva Zip loans.