Kristel Derkowski is a published author, having written the slice-of-life memoir Six Million Trees (2016) about being a tree planter when she was younger. Her background spans writing, illustration, graphic design, remote camp management, welding, architecture, project management, and environmental design. She currently works in an architecture firm in Yellowknife, where her focus is research on housing. Kristel has lived in the NWT for about six years, enjoys it, and rarely leaves. She likes to see northern initiatives succeed and has supported exciting projects of various scales like community-led housing plans in Fort Good Hope and, locally, Makerspace YK.