BIO

Kristen holds a Ph.D. in French language and literature from the University of Maryland (U.S.A.), which includes the teaching of French as a second language. In addition to her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in French, she holds a B.A. in journalism.

As part of her doctoral training, she completed a five-year andragogical training program, collaborating with leading experts in online, flipped, communicative, and active methods. Some of the teaching methods and online tools she invented as a graduate student remain in use at her home university today.

Presently, Kristen holds positions in instruction, learning design, and leadership at two private universities in France, Ipag Business School and Diderot Education. Additionally, she serves as a chargé de projet for the development of a new e-learning campus for Diderot Education. She also publishes and presents research internationally, with a focus on the trifecta of communication, education, and cognition.  Kristen is on the instructional design consultant roster for the United Nations and is currently being certified as an official U.N. Trainer by the U.N. Institute for Training and Research. 

Formerly an editor and researcher at The Baltimore Sun and at National Geographic, Kristen is passionate about education, cultural exchange, and communication. 

KRU French is Kristen’s personal project, designed to bring the knowledge and expertise of professors like herself outside of the academic bubble, to professional individuals in the private sector who stand to benefit immensely from the speaking-based, functional methods she and her collaborators employ.