Mikenzie was raised in Vancouver, Washington where two generations of her family still reside. She focused in theater and photography at the public arts magnet school Vancouver School of Arts and Academics grades 6-12. While at VSAA, she discovered ASL and deaf culture through performance and was forever changed by her experience.

After high school she continued her performing arts career in acting and stage management for the next 25 years of her life. After getting her BA in Theater Arts at Boise State University, she moved to New York and had the unforgettable experience of stage managing for the immersive movement show, Sleep No More, among many other inexplicably unique “happenings”.

Now in her mid-thirties and onto her second career as an educator, Mikenzie has chosen to focus her life on purpose and peace. In her free time, she enjoys reading in her hammock, crosswords, drinking coffee and watching RuPaul’s Drag Race obsessively. She lives in Portland with her partner and their many, many (too many) plants.