Kristen Houlton Shaw recently finished her second year at the University of San Francisco School of Law. A long-time sexual assault advocate, she paused her career to retrain as an attorney to represent survivors in civil cases. Her prior work has centered on anti-violence and social justice movements, domestically and internationally.

Previously, Kristen served as executive director of a rape crisis center in Minneapolis. Later, she worked as director of strategic initiatives for the umbrella organization of rape crisis centers across New York City. Kristen has supported survivors during evidentiary exams in hospitals, with law enforcement, at court, and with peer counseling over many years. She has trained advocates in compliance with state certification standards and, most recently, offered remote support to advocates handling complex cases in NYC hospitals.

Kristen’s international experience includes working across eight countries as global director of development for the anti-poverty NGO VisionSpring. Earlier, Kristen lived and worked for seven years in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following a stint with the Peace Corps, she led HIV programs across 35 correctional facilities for the Malawi Prisons Service.

Kristen holds a master’s degree in Feminist Philosophy from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in Politics from New York University.