Marika was born and raised in Pendleton and graduated from Pendleton High School in 2011. She completed her four-year degree at Stanford University, receiving a B.A in Human Biology with a concentration in Food and Agriculture Systems in 2015. Following graduation, Marika spent one year working at Stanford’s Bill Lane Center for the American West before returning to northeastern Oregon to take a job at the Oregon Water Coalition in 2017.
As the coordinator of the Oregon Water Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Marika worked to advance education and outreach about water and agriculture issues in northeastern Oregon. After one and a half years as coordinator, Marika began law school at the University of Oregon School of Law. She graduated from law school in May 2021 with a concentration in Environmental and Natural Resources Law. Marika is currently an associate attorney at Jordan Ramis PC, where she focuses on water and natural resources law. She is based in Bend, Oregon.