Her Story
About Kristina
I honestly got into this field because I was looking for a job. I had a friend who was working in a residential setting with high-risk youth or at-risk youth, and she told me about the work she was doing. I ended up applying and got exposed to this whole world. Through my experience, I started to recognize that there were some disparities, some gaps. I started to recognize most of the children and families that I was working with were people of color, so I became more curious. From there, I decided to really dive into my educational journey and learn more. Throughout the years, I just became so passionate about the impact of mental health for all people, but especially for communities of color, and how to really do that work. I've always worked with children, so it really became just a nice combination that connected. I didn't find it, but it found me, I would say. My main areas of expertise today are anxiety and depression, and also generational trauma. Women, of course, are my soft spot. I thought I would always stay with the children, but I realize the impact that women have on the entire family structure. In my role at Safe Horizon, I have oversight of about 175 staff members within my cluster, with about 6 programs underneath that cluster. Staff development is a big part of what I do, along with recognizing gaps in the services we provide and trying to find new ways to deliver those services, strengthening the services we already provide, collaboration, building relationships, and providing education to partners and people in the community around the impact of mental health, child abuse, and how to strengthen the family unit.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kristina
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received is to do it, do it, and then ask for permission. People oftentimes are afraid to try new things. You have a new idea for a new program, or to expose something, or change laws, or whatever it is, most people will say no first. So finding a way to show people and just do it, and then you can ask for forgiveness later, but oftentimes, you will find that there is no forgiveness to ask, or people are excited and they're on board. That's one piece that supports me. The other one that helps me a lot is, title doesn't equal power, influence does. I remember just being someone who was chasing the title, and then I had to recognize, even people who have titles, sometimes they walk into a room and they can't influence anyone to follow them.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The number one advice I tell them is to do it, do it, do it. Do it kicking, do it scared, do it screaming. Do it. Whatever it is, if it aligns, and it makes sense, and you're excited about it, and you're passionate about it, just do it. Fear always holds people back, and I think that's the hardest part, to go through life knowing the only thing that held you back was you. The other thing I tell them is to be mindful of the company that you keep. You want to keep yourself surrounded by people who are smarter than you. If you're the smartest, you're in the wrong group. You've maximized your time in that group. If you're always the smartest, that means you're always gonna be pulled on. You're not gonna be poured into. So I tell them to take inventory of your life. You are the CEO of your own life.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would probably say respect. And when I say that, I mean having respect for everybody, from the person who comes in and takes out the garbage to the CEO, being able to offer that mutual respect to everyone is really a value that I hold. Communication is big on being able to change things, to let people know how you see them, that you value them, to be able to address conflict, to not just let it fester and linger, but to be able to have important conversations. So I would say respect and communication are really important values to me. And I would probably say growth as a third one, as an important value for me, whatever that looks like. If you would have asked me this maybe 10 years ago, they might have not been as defined as they are today, but through my life experience, those are the ones that I really hold close to me.
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