After finishing her undergraduate studies in Kentucky, Portia headed to Thailand on a Fulbright grant to teach English in the rural northeast. After completing a subsequent fellowship teaching Shan Burmese youth near the Myanmar border, she returned home to pursue a master’s degree in diplomacy and international commerce. Since then, Portia has returned to Thailand multiple times to pursue nonprofit work focused on migrant labor rights, teach English in various capacities, and learn Thai traditional medicine. Portia has also worked as a caseworker for a refugee resettlement agency and served as Program Manager at a medical surplus recovery organization in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Portia has led student programs for Putney and National Geographic in Thailand, Vietnam, Rwanda, and Morocco.