Born and raised in Brentwood, Kirsten developed her love for community service at a young age through extensive involvement with the Brentwood 4-H Club. As an undergraduate at U.C. Davis, she participated in service trips to Mexico and El Salvador, permanently cementing her commitment to community empowerment. Earning her bachelor’s in 2002, she worked with children with autism for a year prior to becoming a long-term volunteer in Central America. She attended language school in Guatemala, then served as a volunteer Social Worker and Women’s Outreach Coordinator at an orphanage in Trujillo, Honduras. Kirsten subsequently returned to the U.S. and enrolled in a master’s program at Holy Names University in Oakland. She worked as Director of the Family Faith Formation Program at Byron’s St. Anne Church before joining VCRC.