Caryn Niles

Born and raised in Texas, BA Literature / Language (English Lit and Mandarin Chinese) University of Texas, 2002. Spent a year in Asia as an undergraduate, studying Mandarin in Taiwan. Out of college, I joined the Peace Corps, lived in China for a little over a year before evacuation due to the SARS outbreak. Back in the States, I lived in Portland for a year, running a wine store and adminstering databases, before moving to Washington, DC for graduate school. I earned an MA in international affairs, specializing in international law, while teaching at a charter school in Anacostia (talk about a cultural divide, my word) -- my intent was to join the State Department, but I was in DC during the Bush Administration and wasn't too keen on the culture. After graduating, I moved to upstate New York with my partner at the time, got a gig at a marketing and consulting firm, and hunkered down to weather the snow. Two years later, my partner dumped me and my firm let me go, so I moved to Seattle and started working for Boeing in Program Management. (Boring, but lucrative.) I met the person of my dreams, got married, learned to sail, and now live aboard a 40' sailboat in NW Washington state.