Kristen earned her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder and later served as an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Cal Poly State University, where she taught Organic Chemistry, Neurochemistry, and the Chemistry of Drugs and Poisons. After her 17-year-old son, Anders, developed schizophrenia—likely linked to high-potency cannabis use during early adolescence—she joined the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University in 2018 to research new antipsychotic treatments. That same year, she delivered a TEDx talk titled Rewiring Revolution: Neuroplasticity’s Impact on Wellbeing.

In 2019, Kristen tragically lost Anders to an accidental overdose following a severe decline in his mental health. Two years later, she redirected her career toward educating adolescents and parents about mental health vulnerabilities and their connection to substance use and self-harm. As Director of Outreach and Advocacy Programs and Assistant Professor of Research at the Warren Center, she presented nationwide to youth, families, law enforcement, legislators, and recovery communities. She also created the multi–award-winning youth documentary Speaking Through Me (released August 2023). In 2024, she appeared on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, in a Kate Snow segment, and on News Nation with Elizabeth Vargas to discuss the rising psychosis risks associated with high-potency cannabis.

Driven to reach even more young people, Kristen founded the nonprofit 22 Forever in memory of Anders. As President and Executive Director, she delivers adolescent brain health presentations nationally and internationally and leads development of a middle-school brain health curriculum focused on mental health and substance-use disorder prevention.