Kristen was born and raised in Boise, Idaho and attended college at the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon. In addition to obtaining a Bachelor of Architecture degree, she also minored in Interior Architecture, Architecture History and Business. While performing her thesis work in Portland, she worked as an intern at Deca Architecture, a boutique firm specializing in sustainable design with local roots.

After graduation, she was employed by Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects’ Portland office where she was placed on their Urban Design team. Kristen enjoyed learning the in’s and out’s of multifamily housing design, as well as the concept of masterplanning: looking at large sites and determining how to best use them based on the program elements, building phasing, and environmental aspects.

In 2009, Kristen returned to Boise to work at Erstad Architects for her mentor, Andy Erstad. Here, she had the pleasure of working on a wide range of projects, from small tenant improvement designs, to high end residential, to office buildings, to educational campuses and restaurant designs.

While she enjoyed her time at Erstad Architects, in the spring of 2014, she was ready to take the next step and focus on obtaining her architectural license and start her own firm. Northridge Architecture was founded in Winter of 2015 and has continued to work on a large variety of project types. The wide range of projects keeps Kristen on her toes and forever learning, which she loves.

When Kristen is not working, she enjoys spending time with her two children, Jack (4) and Arden (2), as well as her husband, Dustin, and English Lab, Gus. She loves running in the foothills, drinking wine, trying new foods, and exploring Boise, the state of Idaho and beyond with family and friends.