Kristen Klingler is an adjunct instructor in the Master of Public Health program at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.
As a Senior Public Health Specialist at the City of Minneapolis Health Department, she engages community members in the design, implementation, and evaluation of effective and innovative public health interventions. Her areas of expertise are healthy eating, food access, and chronic disease prevention with an emphasis on policy, systems, and environmental changes that create healthy communities.
Previously, Klinger served as a Public Health Prevention Service fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where she helped coordinate national public health strategies related to HIV/AIDS, STD, and TB prevention and environmental health.
Klinger received her M.P.H. from The University of Akron and her B.S. with honors in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest University. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and has demonstrated mastery of foundational health education and promotion competencies including community needs/capacity assessment, program planning, implementation and evaluation, program administration, and communication.
Klinger recognizes the importance of preparing the future public health workforce and regularly engages in mentoring and supervising entry-level public health professionals and undergraduates who are exploring the field. In the classroom and workplace, she strives to create opportunities for students to ground themselves in public health theory and utilize their knowledge to address pressing community health issues.