Cristina Roark is the Kitsap Strong Innovation Network Manager, one of four backbone team members within a county-wide collective impact initiative, Kitsap Strong. More than 100 organizations have come together as Kitsap Strong partners to work on preventing childhood trauma and helping people – children and adults – who’ve suffered from it. 

Grounded in an understanding of the new brain science, the Innovation Network convenes like-minded partners committed to shifting culture and practices that center on understanding a person’s entire journey in order to foster hope and self-healing, while reducing harm in the process of helping. 

Cristina is recognized by her peers as a someone who cares deeply about developing meaningful and supportive relationships. She believes that the ability to influence system change begins with looking inward.

Before joining Kitsap Strong, Cristina served as a Senior IT Business Analyst at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for ten years on IT-related change initiatives. She was a culture contributor, building employee communities for greater impact and personal fulfillment. She holds an MBA from the University of Kansas and a BA in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.