Department of Education

Hometown: Norwalk, CT    
Education: Colby College- Bachelor of Arts 2015: East Asian Studies (major) Human Development (minor)    

Christien (he/him) began his post-college career as a TFA Corps Member at Achievement First Iluminar, then a founding K-1 school, in Providence, RI. He was grateful to have learned from several highly effective leaders as he took on the first-grade math specialist role in his second and third-year teaching. Christien then transitioned to school operations and joined KIPP Massachusetts as a Special Projects Coordinator. Christien would ultimately return to Providence to co-found another Achievement First elementary school as the Director of School Operations (DSO) in the summer of 2020. During his tenure as the DSO at AF Promesa Elementary, Christien oversaw the successful school opening of both a remote and in-person learning model as well as a whole-school campus relocation and the first co-location of a charter and traditional public school in the city. Most recently, Christien joined the Providence Public Schools Finance Team in September of 2022 where he works as the Federal Programs Coordinator. Christien is honored to be joining the Urban Education Policy Masters cohort. He hopes to leverage his experience to support school and district leaders in utilizing data to make more strategic operational decisions that positively impact students.