Kristi Gleason brings 20 years of experience in international development to the Director role in Child Protection and Education. She joined World Vision in October 2022, after realizing she missed working in an international context. Her work has primarily focused on international child welfare, deinstitutionalization of children in orphanages, family-based care and child protection. With her previous organization, Kristi led domestic programs focusing on refugee resettlement, alternatives to detention and programs providing psychosocial support to survivors of trafficking. Additionally, she has experience in the full spectrum of the program life cycle, from program design, implementation and closure, as well as monitoring and evaluation and financial management. Kristi’s true passion however, is supporting teams to run well designed and impactful programs.

 

Kristi has a BA in Latin American Studies from Calvin University and a Master’s in Social Work from Grand Valley State University. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband, two children, 2 dogs, and 5 chickens.