Kristen grew up in Medina, Ohio. She was accepted into a 6 year B.S./M.D. program from high school and graduated summa cum laude from Kent State University. She received her medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in 2006 and completed her Emergency Medicine Residency training here at Vanderbilt in 2009. She was Vanderbilt's first Emergency Medicine Global Health Fellow and is now the Global Health Fellowship Director. She loves teaching the emergency medicine residents at Georgetown Public Hospital in Guyana, South America. She also uses her skills on mission trips and has worked in Honduras, Nepal, Zambia, Romania and Peru (her absolute favorite place). On days off, Kristen enjoys wakeboarding, soccer, reading, hiking with her dog Maya and spending time with her family at the lake.