Kirsten is from Maine born and bred. Her childhood was split between early years growing up in the country (Buxton) then moving to small seaside part of the town of Saco. She experienced many different styles of education throughout my years.

From Kindergarten through 2nd grade she attended a small, K-12th grade experiential project based private school (Salmon Falls School). From 3rd through 6th grade she was homeschooled by her mother who was a certified teacher. Kirsten then attended a public middle school (Saco Middle School) , then a private/public high school (Thornton Academy). For undergraduate she attended a college (Hampshire College) that was very similar to the private school she had gone to as a child.

Then when Kirsten's son was 2 and she was 33 she went back to school and got a Masters in Social Work at the University of New England. Kirsten has been a licensed clinical social worker for almost 15 years and has worked in public schools for almost 10. She currently work with K-4th grade students with social emotional challenges. "I work with the district wide elementary leve social emotional learning classroom in South Portland. Most of the students I support have significant trauma histories. I was drawn to this work because of my own experiences growing up in a home with a lot of chaos. My father struggled with substance use disorder (as have many member of my family for generations) and mental health issues. His drinking caused many of the typical challenges: bankruptcy, poverty, isolation, conflict and the list goes on. In my adult life I found myself struggling with the same challenges." Says Kirsten.

"At the age of 43, on the 3rd anniversary of my father's death I woke up and decided that I had not escaped the cycle. I quit drinking the next day and am now 7 years sober. I consider my sobriety to be one of my biggest achievements in this lifetime as well as my strong and loving relationship with my husband who I have been in a relationship with since senior year in high school. We work hard on developing our communication and problem solving skills. I am also proud of my relationship with my son, who is 18. He is kind and such a wonderful human being. I worked really hard to have a healthy relationship with him where I wasn't needing him to be anything other than who he is. I think I did ok." Says Kirsten

What are you passionate about?

My passions in this world are connecting with people, searching for beauty in the everyday, enjoying simple pleasures and reading.