Our Team

Krista is a research scientist and public health professional with extensive experience in management, monitoring and evaluation and quality improvement for international and domestic programs focused on gender equity, youth engagement and social inclusion. She has developed, implemented and scaled programs around the globe working in high-risk and low-resource communities.

Prior to joining Impact Health, Krista worked in global development as a senior associate and technical expert in gender-based violence. She has worked across clinical areas utilizing a social equity lens and quality improvement framework to facilitate the development of sustainable locally designed and led programming to improve health outcomes. She is most proud of her work in the integration of quality services related to the identification, care and documentation for survivors of violence. Krista’s public health expertise spans from on-the-ground program development to national advocacy to achieve program scaling, standardized care protocols and toolkits, and policy change.

Krista worked with the public health preparedness and emergency operations teams at the Sonoma County Department of Health and Human Services in support of the COVID-19 pandemic response and wildfire crises. She is a founding board member for a non-profit organization that advocates for equity for people living with mental health disorders.

Krista was born in Minnesota but spent many years in California including attending University of California Davis, where she earned her bachelor’s in psychology before going on to serve in the Peace Corps. Despite being a lifelong Tarheels fan, she reluctantly accepted a Coverdell Fellowship and Merit Scholarship to attend Duke University for her master’s degree. While there, she worked on the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme.

Krista is overjoyed to join the Impact Health team. She is excited to use her knowledge and skills to collaborate with the human service organizations participating in the WNC Healthy Opportunities Pilot.
In her free time, Krista is an avid reader, hiker and gardener. You may also find her in a yoga class or tinkering with her record player, when she is not chasing her daughter around the park.