Lily Rybarczyk, originally from Monroe, Washington, graduated from Franklin University in Switzerland with majors in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies and French. She traveled extensively as part of her studies, visiting Oman, Malawi, Morocco, Scotland, Iceland, and Former Yugoslavia, to name a few. She had the opportunity to study everything from sustainable agriculture to local musical and artistic traditions along the way. After college, Lily worked with several organizations, including PROVAIL, which provides employment opportunities, education, and programming for disabled children and adults, and The World Is Fun, a nonprofit that pairs volunteers with organizations for events and projects in the Seattle area to serve communities in need. She served at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.