Biography:

Kristen Harper is the Director for the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health’s Center for Addiction Recovery. The Center is entering its second year of operations, here at Georgia Southern University. The center currently houses12 step meetings, provides funding opportunities for students in recovery, leadership seminars and research opportunities for all of Georgia Southern to benefit from. It is the goal of the center to support and enhance all of its students academic lives so that they may enter their professional lives fully prepared.

Kristen was born in Denver, Colorado. She has spent most of her life in Macon, GA where her parents still live. In 1994, she was a member of an exchange program, in which she was able to travel to Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales in an effort to bring cultural understanding back to Georgia. This is where her desire to create and sustain healthy, working communities was born. After graduating from Mt. de Sales Academy, Kristen went to the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She developed a love of music as well as a zest for community service and outreach.

After moving back to Macon, she went back to school and graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts from Mercer University. During this time, Mrs. Harper traveled to Italy, where she participated in a study abroad program, while learning about the Italian culture and customs.

Kristen entered the work force as a K-12 teacher in the Bibb County Public School system in 2004. She quickly earned several certificates while working to help her colleagues obtain a working knowledge of how to use evidence-based learning. She participated in unpacking the new Georgia Standards in Language Arts and later, Math curricula. She was also on the Bibb County Advisory Committee for K-12 training for evidence- based curriculum. Kristen spent her last year in Bibb County piloting a new program for special education, in which she, worked in a third grade inclusion model as a special education teacher, while training the regular education teacher about special needs children. Kristen also went back to Mercer and earned a M.Ed. during the 2007-2008 school year. The focus of her research was in community outreach and coordinating student resources to work in harmony for the betterment of a targeted community.

Mrs. Harper is currently perusing a Specialist degree in Higher Education Administration from the College of Education, here at GSU. She would love to continue on and finish an Ed.D., if time allows. She has also been a Co-PI on a few grants during the 2008-2009 academic school year and is looking forward to advancing research opportunities while at JPH College of Public Health.

Kristen has been associated with the recovery community for ten years. She has been active in several service positions including chairman of a statewide recovery conference. Her passion has always been helping young people to get their lives back on track. She hopes that she can continue to be of service to the GSU campus and the Statesboro community.

The Center for Addiction Recovery has the 5th largest enrollment in the nation (out of 23 recovery schools). The enrollment has tripled in size since its opening in Aug. ’08. Kristen enjoys working with her students to improve the culture of GSU and Statesboro as a whole. The students do local community service projects while reaching out to other GSU students who might be struggling with active addictions. As a member of the Association of Recovery Schools, a national organization that focuses on advocacy and service for students who are in school, Kristen is currently working with state and national officials to change health policies for those that are afflicted with the disease of addiction and alcoholism. It is her goal one day to have opportunities available for all who are living in recovery from addiction to have a second (maybe third) chance at life.

Kristen has been married for four years and has a twelve year old stepson. She and her husband love to travel, having traveled to Banff, Canada, Portland, Oregon, Virginia, New York, Texas, and Colorado just to name a few. Kristen’s younger brother has just started his own adventure, by joining the United States Army. She is very proud of him and hopes that he remains safe throughout this troubled time. Mrs. Harper is very excited about starting her second school year at JPHCOPH and looks forward to getting to know the new students and faculty.