Krista Allen was born in Hays, Kansas and spent her elementary years in Salina, Kansas before moving to Kansas City with her family at age 13.  Krista graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor’s of Science in business administration and a Bachelor’s of General Studies in psychology.  She then went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Missouri – Kansas City.  Most recently, she participated as a fellow in the Ladder to Leadership program, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Center for Creative Leadership and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, designed to develop a select group of community health leaders.  Krista spent more than 10 years working as the Development Officer at Crittenton Children’s Center, part of Saint Luke’s Health System, before joining KU Endowment as the Development Director for the KU Cancer Center in October of 2013.  She is also a founding board member of the Secondary Trauma Resource Center, an organization focused on bringing secondary trauma training and education to the Kansas City community.