Ken Carpenter was born in New Mexico, raised in Colorado and lived most of his life in the Southwest. As a student at Colorado State University during the 1960s, he studied history and became active in local civil rights and anti-war efforts. He resisted being drafted to fight in Vietnam and served time in federal prison. On release, he earned a master's degree at the University of Texas, worked for LGBT rights and was a full-time peace and human rights advocate in the U.S. and Latin America. He met Greg Calvert, formerly a radical leader of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and they began a relationship that lasted for thirty years. Ken earned a PhD at the University of Oregon and became a college teacher and administrator, specializing in international education. He and Greg set up and ran an educational exchange program and school for children in Granada, Nicaragua. Now retired from the University of New Mexico, Ken lives in Albuquerque, teaching and mentoring students part-time.