Kristin Walrod began her career in arts and community nonprofits at Seattle Arts & Lectures, the sister organization to Literary Arts, where she coordinated and marketed literary lectures, as well as the National Geographic Lecture series. After moving to Portland, Kristin worked at Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools program coordinating writer residencies and student readings.

For over three decades, Kristin has worked as a creative writing instructor and mentor in literacy programs, community colleges, K-12 schools both rural and urban. Through her role on the boards of Gray Family Foundation and Sitka Art & Ecology, and as a coach at the Right Brain Initiative, Kristin’s passion has been focused on connecting young people with the arts and the environment.

Currently, Kristin is the Executive Director of the Yarg Foundation, a family foundation promoting social equity in Oregon communities, with a focus on Justice Reform and Healthy Families. In this role, she has been interested in the impact of narrative justice and storytelling on policy and culture. As an advocate for other writers and artists, Kristin has spent eight years on the National Advisory Council for Graywolf Press, a nonprofit publisher of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and genre-defying literature.

Kristin received her AB in public policy studies from Duke University and an MFA in fiction from Antioch LA. She has published several short stories and is completing her first novel.