Kamilia was born in Wyoming where she lived for a short time before moving to New Mexico at the age of seven with her father. Growing up, Kamilia was very active in the outdoors, she was fortunate to go on many trips and adventures like white water rafting the Middle Fork Salmon in Idaho, back country pack trips in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico and fishing and canoeing in the Arctic Circle in Northern Alaska. These experiences helped her passion for the outdoors grow and it also planted a seed of wanting to protect our public lands, water and wildlife for the future generations to experience and explore, like she has done.
Kamilia did not grow up hunting but had always wanted to have the opportunity too. It was not until recently, a good friend introduced her to the lifestyle and community of local hunters and anglers in Central New Mexico. She is what we like to call an “adult onset hunter.” She went on her first waterfowl hunt four years ago and that was all it took for her to fall in love with hunting. Since than she has had the opportunity to hunt big game, small game and upland game birds in multiple states, all while doing it on public land. Through her various hunts, Kamilia became more and more aware of issues threatening access to public land(s), public waterways and wildlife. This sparked her interest in conservation efforts, public education and policy change because without this perspective hunting and fishing is at risk due to habit loss, access to public land and waterways and the overall health and management of our wildlife.