Kristen has been passionate about animal advocacy and welfare for as long as she can remember. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, she rescued and aided countless dogs, cats, and wildlife in distress.
Over the years, her understanding and concern for animals and their vulnerability in our shared world has deepened. To help, she’s volunteered for animal welfare organizations including Wildlife Conservation Network, Wildlife Rescue, and the Gorilla Foundation; veterinary practices (small animal, equine, and zoo); and city shelter rescue efforts. Most recently, she fostered and adopted a severely shut-down dog from the “Mississippi 92” hoarding case.
Kristen double-majored in English (creative writing) and Psychology (personality and social) at San Diego State and earned her Master’s in English (creative writing) at San Jose State. She works as a freelance writer/editor and as a seasonal artistic assistant for the San Diego Symphony. She has loved working for a variety of nonprofit organizations over the years, including the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, WiRED International, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Now she’s ready to combine an advanced degree in Animal Law with her professional skills in communications, journalism, creative writing and storytelling, marketing, media outreach, and event planning to make a far-reaching impact for animal welfare and protection.
She is particularly interested in animal cognition and emotion, and how that informs the ethics of animal treatment, the concept of legal personhood, and the rights and protections that animals deserve. Priority areas also include the plight of senior animals in shelters; wildlife poaching, trafficking, and habitat loss; welfare of great apes, elephants, and aquatic mammals; and working toward official designation of war crimes against animals.
Kristen is thrilled to join the Lewis & Clark Animal Law community.