Elected to the NOLS Board: 2008
NOLS Graduate: 1971 Wind River Wilderness Course

A California native, Carlene moved to Bogota, Colombia in 1962 where her father was a Peace Corps Program Director. She graduated from Colegio Nueva Granada and then enrolled at UC Berkeley graduating with a BA in Medieval Studies. As a graduation present she enrolled in the August Wind River Wilderness course.

She returned to Berkeley and began a culinary career working in catering companies and eventually opening a café and bakery, Carlene’s Café, in Wailuku, Maui. After seven years she decided to return to school. She received a Masters in Education and a Teaching Certificate from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was also employed as personal secretary to Denise Levertov, noted American poetess and literary critic.

In 1984 she married a NOLS winter course graduate, Henry Laughlin. She taught Middle School English/ History in Argentina and Chile and returned to the United States in 1989.

She and her husband established their home in San Francisco, California. During this time she has been active in various cultural and educational organizations. She serves on the Board of the San Francisco Children’s Art Center, Chinese American International School, and Crystal Springs Ranch, a privately held resort development company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She is the mother of 13-year-old fraternal twins. The family enjoys swimming, biking, skiing, and being with their extended family and friends.