Berkeley-born Karla Brundage grew up in small beach town Ka'a'awa, Hawaii.�� She received a BA in English from Vassar College where she studied postcolonial African Literature, an MA in Education from SFSU in Multicultural Curriculum Development and Implementation, and an MFA from Mills College. Recipient of a Fulbright Teacher Exchange Fellowship in 2001, she spent a year in Zimbabwe, and through her international cross-cultural program, "West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange (WO2WA)" she runs writing programs in Oakland, Hawaii, Tanzania and Ghana, and is a board member of the Before Columbus Foundation. She is program Director of 826 Valencia at Mission Bay. Her poem "Alabama Dirt" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.