Karisa was born and raised in a small town in south central Alaska. Her love of driving and the road started at an early age when her parents drove around the United States for a year, staying at state parks, and never staying more that three days in one place.

She continued to carry this sense of adventure with her and after college spent time volunteering and living in a tent in Madagascar.

Never passing up a test of endurance, Karisa was fast to agree to a 72hr blitz from Seattle to Homer, Alaska with her husband in their vintage 911.

In 2018 Karisa and her husband took their 1956 Porsche 356 on a one month 10,000 mile road trip mirroring the one taken by her parents when she was little.

Since completing the Rebelle Rally in 2022 she is excited to come back for a strong result in 2023!

Some of Trista’s earliest and fondest memories, are from behind the steering wheel. Growing up at her family’s owned and operated go-kart track, Trista was exposed to the squeal of tires, the rev of an engine, and the unmistakable smell of gasoline from an early age. That love of man+machine+competition has endured to this day.

With a motor-head father, who was always turning wrenches and rebuilding vehicles of all shapes and sizes, Trista learned how to be resourceful and adventurous, and if a new problem pops up, it just takes some grit and determination to solve it.

Over the past five years, Trista and her family have taken up overlanding as a new way to get out of town, and off the beaten path, taking their Toyota 4runner all over the Northwest. Learning what gear, modifications, and tactics are needed to be self-sufficient and safe has been a fun and fulfilling journey for the whole family.

After an exhilarating inaugural rally in 2022, Trista can’t wait to come back with more skills and technical understanding to the 2023 Rebelle.