Hills endeavored to give Wildesen the “ladylike” and elegant demeanor that she herself had learned in finishing schools, and therefore did not allow her granddaughter any experience with the outdoors.
[2] At the age of four, Wildesen contracted rheumatic fever, which left her needing a wheelchair for six years, until she was cured after the discovery of penicillin.
[2] At Stanford, she majored in English with a concentration in creative writing, and found a lifelong passion for playing the guitar.
[2] After earning her BA from Stanford University, Wildesen enrolled in graduate courses at San Francisco State College.
There, she worked for geologist Dr. Roald Fryxell as a research assistant, and attended an archaeological field school in 1971 with Dr. Richard Daugherty at Ozette.
[2] In the early 1980s, Wildesen left government work and began consulting privately, held a position as Secretary of the Society of American Archaeology,[5] was a member of Oregon's State Historic Review Board,[5] and was an adjunct faculty member in the Public History program at Portland State University.
Throughout her career, Wildesen worked with more than 25 Native American tribes to pass similar legislation, coordinate reburials, and conduct CRM compliance training.
[9] In 1982, the American Anthropological Association awarded Wildesen a Congressional Fellowship, and she served as a staff member for the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks.
[10] In 1985, she was a member of the Technologies for the Preservation of Archaeological Sites and Structures Group,[11] and in 1986, she wrote a remembrance for Dr. Roald Fryxell of Washington State University.
[18] Additionally, Wildesen volunteered on projects in Zimbabwe in 1997 and in Sri Lanka in 2000, to assist local agencies and firms in developing stronger environmental management systems.
[19] Throughout her career, Wildesen conducted numerous public involvement projects for the US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Department of Energy, and the US Forest Service.