Kristin's Bio

Or, the entangled cosmic pathways creating the dancing ground that is "me"

Kristin as a child in Borneo, as an advocate for survivors of gender-based violence, in her home study, and looking out over her current home of Lenapehoking, colonially known as Brooklyn.

Some basic stuff about Kristin

I spent my childhood in the 1970s in Malaysian Borneo, home to vibrant indigenous animist cultures. I was fortunate to witness and experience the ceremonies and celebrations of many different cultures and religions there—Chinese, Tamil, Malay, and the indigenous Iban, Bidayuh, and Kayan peoples, whose customs are based on what we in the West would call “animist” beliefs.

In my 20s, I attended Brown, Princeton, and Columbia Universities for my undergraduate and graduate education, specializing in ancient Mediterranean esoteric religions and cultural anthropology. I also was part of the groundbreaking Envisioning Magic seminar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in 1994-95. Among my Classics and Religion teachers were Elaine Pagels (author of The Gnostic Gospels), Hans Dieter Betz (The Greek Magical Papyri), John Gager (Early Christian Magic), Joseph Dan (Kabbalah: A Short Introduction), and David Pingree (Babylonian Omens, Vettius Valens Anthology).

After grad school, I spent more than a decade in non-profit holistic healthcare management, then moved to a career in Waldorf education, where I taught history, literature, and health to high school students. (Fun fact: at one point my office closet contained a box of more than 3000 condoms.)

These days, after Long Covid put a full stop on my career plans, I focus on my translations, research, and poetry. I keep my academic chops up through my association with various reading groups and classes. Bayo Akomolafe’s work and communities have been important resources for me, and I’m currently doing a deep dive into the theory and practice of “crip ecologies” with a collective of fellow disabled folks interested in the intersections of storytelling, myth, and critical theory.

Another important lens for my work is my identity as a survivor of gender-based and intimate partner violence. I currently partner with Sanctuary for Families, an NYC-based agency, to serve as a mentor and advocate for fellow survivors. My work as an advocate for survivors of gender-based violence has involved everything from offering training for NYC parole officers, to appearing in documentaries, to meeting with legislators, to tutoring children living in family shelters. If you’re curious about this side of my work, you can watch me tell my story in a short interview here.

Through my various work and volunteer roles, I have had extensive training in survivor-led trauma support, trauma-informed education, crisis management, emergency planning, restorative justice, anti-racist/abolitionist education, and compassionate communication.

I’m a poet myself, as well as a translator of ancient poetry...more on my publications can be found on my website.

I currently live in Lenapehoking, homeland of the Lenape people, colonially known as Brooklyn, NY. There, I care for one teen son, two cat-babies named Venus and Comet, and way too many herbs, plants, and books.