Fellowship Advisor and facilitator

As a fellowship advisor and industry thought leader, Kristen has engaged in a variety of groups and initiatives that generate evidence-based insights for the fellowship industry. Since 2016, she has been an active member of the Impact Fellowships Network – a community of practice for fellowship program designers and practitioners. She has served on its Steering Committee, spoken at its annual Impact Fellowships Summit, and contributed to industry research including the Fellowship Industry Report (2020), Fellowship Alumni Network Study (2023), and Impact Fellowships Research Consortium (2025-2026). She has also participated in a specialized community of practice for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning fellowship professionals, offered by Salzburg Global. Combined, these experiences have sharpened her expertise in fellowship program design, alumni engagement strategy, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning, giving her a unique perspective on advancing impact in the fellowship sector.

As a workshop facilitator and leadership development trainer, Kristen is trained in Dare to Lead™ (Brené Brown’s values-based leadership framework to develop brave leaders and courageous cultures), Adaptive Leadership (New York University), Trauma-Informed and Resilient Leadership (Center for Justice and Peacebuilding), Workforce Development for Learning Organizations (offered in partnership by Harvard University and Accenture), and Liberating Structures (a suite of facilitation tools for making meetings more interactive, inclusive, and productive).

As a professional coach, Kristen completed her training through Co-Active Training Institute, recognized as the most rigorous professional coach training and certification program in the industry. She Is also trained In Positive Intelligence coaching, a mental fitness model to boost performance, improve well-being, and strengthen relationships.

Throughout all of her work, Kristen utilizes a lens of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI). She is trained in diversity, equity, and inclusion practices from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. From 2022-2024 she served on the DEAI task force for the United Nations Association of the United States of America, where she co-facilitated a session on implicit bias and supported the design of DEAI training materials. She attends monthly masterclasses on building neurodiversity-inclusive spaces through Neurodiversity Coaching Academy’s training that supports the full spectrum of humanity.

Kristen possesses a Master of Arts in international politics from American University in Washington, DC and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. She has also completed continuing education training through the Next Level Lab at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. 

Kristen is a recipient of the Evelyn Falkowski Service Award, an annual service award presented by the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area. She received this award for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusivity advancements made during her tenure as Chair of the organization’s Nominations Committee, including adjustments made to the recruitment and selection process for the Board of Directors and membership engagement strategies.