Kristina grew up in California and attended San Francisco State University prior to moving to Washington, Ohio and South Dakota. Now that she is firmly situated in the Mount Rushmore State, there is no place she would rather be. She has been a professional photojournalist for 10 years, most recently with the Rapid City Journal where she served as a staff photographer for nearly 5 years and as the Photo Editor for 2 years. In July 2014, she resigned from her position at the newspaper to pursue her freelance career and is now a highly sought-after storyteller with recent assignments from the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.