Kristina was born and raised in the Twin Cities area, but headed east for college, receiving her bachelor's degree in bilingual education and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) from Boston University. After a short stint as a bookseller at Barnes and Noble (during which time her classroom library grew at a dangerously fast rate), she boarded a plane headed for Nicaragua, where she spent 27 months as a Peace Corps volunteer. During her time in Nicaragua, she conducted environmental education classes, formed lifelong friendships, tried to influence lives for the better, and met her future husband, John, a fellow volunteer. After the Peace Corps, she taught first grade at both Urban Academy in St. Paul and at LILA, then moved to South Carolina to work as an ESOL teacher for two years. Kristina is thrilled to be back in the Twin Cities and back at LILA! She and John were recently married and live in Forest Lake with their energetic dog, Sasha. Her classroom library, happily, continues to grow at a dangerously fast rate.