Smalltown Roots
Kristy was raised in small towns throughout North Dakota. As the daughter of two teachers, she learned the importance of hard work and a quality education from an early age. Her family’s rural background, with her father’s family farming in the Red River Valley and her mother’s parents serving as a county social worker and a hospital nurse, instilled in her the value of strong communities.
Military Service
Kristy joined the North Dakota Army National Guard when she was just 17 years old and still in high school, making her a third generation Army soldier. Months after she joined the military, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 launched the nation into wartime. Kristy served six years with active-duty service in 2003 and held the rank of E-5 sergeant. Helping veterans has now become her life’s work.
Education and Career
Kristy is a proud graduate of public schools and land grant universities. She received her bachelor degrees in mass communication and apparel and textile studies from North Dakota State University and her Ph.D. in design and sustainability from the University of Minnesota. She worked for 15 years in the private sector in global manufacturing, and then taught for three years in higher education, where she was an academic department chair. She has since worked in the public sector, where she currently helps homeless and justice-involved veterans access stable housing, food, income, education, and other resources.
Public Service Experience
Kristy was elected to Maple Grove City Council in 2022, where she serves as liaison to the Planning Commission and the Transit and Mobility Committee. She recently received the Steven A. Pihlaja Justice Partners Award from the Fourth Judicial District for her success and advocacy with Veteran Treatment Court participants’ veteran benefits claims. Kristy also volunteers as a part-time special deputy for the sheriff’s water patrol.
Bipartisan Track Record
For the past three years, Kristy has served as a volunteer legislative advocate for veterans issues at the State Capitol, where she crafts bill language, leverages grass roots support of veterans service organizations, and testifies on behalf of veterans. Kristy collaborates with lawmakers of both parties to pass bills into law, prioritizing service and effective policy above all else.
