Katie Hilborn

A passion for purpose

Katie has spent her life bravely journeying where she is needed. She’s ventured to remote villages in the Himalayas and gone undercover to investigate the trafficking of missing girls. She’s volunteered at orphanages in India, constructed a school building and farming enterprise in Nepal and taught schoolchildren in Vietnam. And she’s turned a life-long calling to help others into two thriving charities.

And it all started at CMU, where Katie transferred to take advantage of the small class sizes and tight-knit community that the larger university she first attended couldn't offer. She was immediately drawn to the breathtaking nature that surrounded Grand Junction, and recalls that it was actually CMU’s Outdoor Program that not only satisfied her wanderlust, but provided her first volunteer opportunity during a five-week trip to East Africa. Katie described the trip, which included working at a preschool for orphans, as a mix of backpacking, soul searching and adventure — ultimately serving as the catalyst for her non-profit work.

Making her mark

That trip firmly set Katie’s humanitarian journey in motion. From there, Katie’s life became a whirlwind of volunteer experiences, from wildlife refuges to orphanages and everything in between. She became eager to find a cause where she could make a lasting, measurable impact. So, off she went again — this time to India and Nepal, where she identified a need to not only help orphans and trafficked persons, but put the root systems in place to prevent issues in the future. 

Through inspiring tales of helping mothers in Nepal invest in social enterprises so they could afford to keep their children, and constructing an education center in the Himalayas to decrease the need for trafficking, Katie detailed the journey to creating her first charity: Global Orphan Prevention. With a mission to prevent the trafficking of children through economic development, empowerment and education, Katie’s work with Global Orphan Prevention won national media attention and recognition at The Anthem Awards, honored among the likes of Jane Goodall, Trevor Noah and Richard Branson.

But Katie didn’t stop there. She went on to found another nonprofit, Compass Rose International, dedicated to empowering young women to become purpose-driven leaders. Now, as Executive Director of two charities, Katie does everything from fundraising and grant writing to traveling and keynote speaking. Wearing so many hats, she was grateful CMU gave her real-world experience in political science, TV production, marketing and public relations. Through it, she is creating a lasting legacy that will empower and uplift global communities for generations to come.

Article published January 2023