Kristen Balch

Kristen Balch's work experience includes:

- Information Security Analyst - Compliance at MediaAlpha since August 2022.

- Science Teacher at Friendswood Independent School District from August 2016 to June 2022. In this role, they were responsible for developing curriculum, assessing student mastery of standards, analyzing student data, and contributing to standards-based grading improvements. Kristen also managed large-scale projects and coordinated with other advisors on student council activities.

- Science Teacher at Salem-Keizer Public Schools from August 2015 to June 2016.

- Summer Intern at Liberating Law in May-August 2011.

Kristen Balch's education history begins with their bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance, which they obtained from Western Governors University in 2022. Prior to that, they attended The University of Manchester from 2006 to 2009, where they earned a BA degree in Sciences and Psychology & English Language and Linguistics. Subsequently, Kristen pursued a J.D. degree at the University of Houston Law Center from 2009 to 2012, specializing in Law.

In addition to their formal education, Kristen holds various certifications. Kristen has received the WGU Capstone Excellence Award from Badgr (now part of Instructure) in August 2022. Kristen obtained the CompTIA Project+ Certification in February 2022 and the Teaching License-Standard (Science Composite) from the Texas Education Agency in April 2017. Furthermore, in 2022, Kristen achieved several CompTIA certifications, including AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, CompTIA Network Security Professional - CNSP Stackable Certification, CompTIA Network Vulnerability Assessment Professional - CNVP Stackable Certification, CompTIA PenTest+ ce Certification, CompTIA CySA+ ce Certification, CompTIA A+ ce Certification, CompTIA IT Operations Specialist - CIOS Stackable Certification, CompTIA Network+ ce Certification, CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist - CSIS Stackable Certification, CompTIA Security+ ce Certification, and Associate of (ISC)².

Additionally, Kristen has completed the Advanced Arbitration Skills course offered by the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center and the University of Houston Law Center. Kristen has also undergone Basic Mediation Training through the Blakely Advocacy Institute and the University of Houston Law Center. Furthermore, they have attained a Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management, which they earned from Rice University in partnership with SHRM.