Kelsey Kolbe graduated with highest honors from the University of Oklahoma with degrees in gender studies and classics. She has worked as a peer educator with a sexual assault prevention program, served as a rape crisis advocate, and worked at a domestic violence shelter in rural Wisconsin. She coordinated Take Root, a conference devoted to issues of reproductive justice and healthcare access in red state regions in the United States. Most recently, Kelsey completed a post-baccalaureate pre-medical program at Johns Hopkins, where she worked on the EQUALITY Study, which seeks to understand and improve the experiences of LGBTQ people in healthcare settings. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine with a focus on inclusive care. Her other interests include lindy hop, musical adaptations of queer graphic novels, and cats.