Karina Roca is a proud LA Green Corps alumni.

Karina Roca is a Louisiana Green Corps alumna, advocate for traditional trades training, and blacksmith apprentice dedicated to strengthening the ties between historic preservation, sustainable building practices, and workforce development. A 2020 graduate of Louisiana Green Corps, Karina currently serves as Program Manager for Bridge to Crafts Careers at the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, where she cultivates pathways for participants to gain hands-on skills in traditional building trades that support the stewardship of historic buildings and the long-term vitality of communities.

Karina is also a six-year blacksmith apprentice and welder, studying under master blacksmith Darryl Reeves in New Orleans’ historic 7th Ward.  Through her work in ironwork restoration, she is helping preserve the skills, knowledge, and cultural memory embedded in traditional craft. She believes sustainable building and green infrastructure are deeply connected to historic preservation: maintaining existing buildings, repairing rather than replacing historic materials, and sustaining traditional trades can reduce waste, extend the life of New Orleans’ built environment, and keep skill transmission in practice.

A graduate of Pace University, where she double majored in Political Science and Peace and Justice Studies, Karina also holds a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from the Tulane School of Architecture and the Built Environment.  Her work focuses on building bridges between environmental stewardship, vocational skills, and cultural heritage.