Kristen N.

Background

About Kristen N.

Kristen is the Managing Attorney of the Public Benefits Unit at Connecticut Legal Services (CLS), where she leads a team committed to securing access to healthcare and basic needs programs for low-income individuals through individual representation, class action litigation, and systemic advocacy. Kristen’s interest in health equity and poverty law began during her undergraduate studies at Wesleyan University, where she explored how race, class, and gender have shaped the U.S. health, housing, education, and legal systems. This academic foundation guided her early professional experiences at a managed Medicaid nonprofit and in a research role within the Denver public health system—work that revealed the profound systemic barriers facing marginalized communities and inspired her to pursue legal training. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law. While there, she clerked for the Office of the Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. After returning to Connecticut, she joined CLS, where she has led class litigation to improve access to medical transportation services for people with disabilities and co-counseled other class litigations which improved access to kid's oral health and secured the right to an accomodation at DSS for people with disabilities. Kristen has also served in these additional leadership roles: • Vice Chair of the Connecticut Commission on Health Equity • Member of the Health Disparities Committee of the SustiNet Board • Chair of the Youth Subcommittee of the Regional Health Equity Council for Region I, part of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (Office of Minority Health) She deepened her expertise through a Health Equity Fellowship at the Connecticut Health Foundation, returning in the coveted role as a Senior Fellow, and through completing the Shriver Center on Poverty Law’s Racial Justice Institute. She currently serves on the Medical Program Oversight Council and previously on the Equity and Access Council for Connecticut’s State Innovation Model (SIM). Known for her sharp analysis and collaborative spirit, Kristen is an expert in exposing and dismantling the structural barriers created by the intersection of poverty, disability, and race. She is at her best when leading strategy with partners committed to building systems that are just, inclusive, and sustainable.