About Katie & Jo

Johanna Perkins

Date of Birth: 
08/04/1990
Claim to Fame: 

Jo has hung out in the backyard of the American President. She also ate ‘Presidential Crab Cakes’ in his big white house. 

The day Jo heard about the Leaking Women of Africa Fund and the work that they do was the same day she found out what it is to have a real heart and passion for a cause... she couldn’t not do anything.

From February 2009 to March 2010, Johanna worked in America as an Au Pair. Although she planned on being there until September, she had to go home to New Zealand early as she broke her knee while skiing on a holiday in Canada. She lost her job, had surgery, and was forced to fly business class.

Once she was able to walk again, training was able to begin, and reaching Cape Reinga was the ultimate thrill. 

Jo has two great loves...
#1 - Travel...she hopes to be able to incorporate travel into her working life. She loves meeting new people and hearing their stories, and traveling is an incredible opportunity to do that.

#2 - Food...cooking is something that is both fun and relaxing for Jo. She is always trying new recipes and will frequently put her own spin on things... just to keep life interesting.

Fun Facts

  • Auckland to Cape Reinga is the same distance as Los Angeles to Las Vegas
  • Katie and Jo both had knee surgery 6 months prior to the walk for completely unrelated and unfortunate circumstances.
  • A blister that is walked on for 16 days continuously grows very large and is rather yellow and squishy.
  • Katie and Jo got into numerous newspapers, had a few radio interviews and had a short segment on 'Breakfast' as well as Shine TV