Kristen Polin has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit management and returned to notMYkid as the Chief Executive Officer in February of 2019, following a one year hiatus to serve as Chief Operating Officer for ShareTek. Kristen originally joined the notMYkid team in July 2015 as the Vice President of Programs where she developed and expanded programs across Arizona to address early intervention gaps for youth and families and deliver a more responsive prevention solution for schools and the community-at-large. Fast forward to 2020, Kristen led notMYkid through one of its most challenging years with the arrival of the pandemic and swiftly pivoted all programs to the virtual space and led the charge to expand services to address the urgent mental health needs of youth and their families. In less than 6 months, notMYkid successfully obtained their license from the Arizona Department of Health Services to operate an outpatient treatment center and continues to expand services to offer peer support and mentoring programs for struggling children, teens, and young adults. COVID pushed the organization in its twentieth year of service to become a full continuum provider of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services. She is proud to lead a dynamic team of prevention and treatment professionals that are developing and implementing high impact programs designed to inspire and empower youth and families. Kristen works in partnership with the notMYkid Board of Directors to oversee the strategic direction of our mission-driven programs locally and nationally. As CEO, Kristen is also focused on developing strategic partnerships with healthcare institutions, corporations and small business, and like-minded nonprofit organizations who value the impact of prevention efforts while ensuring access to care for all who struggle with behavioral and mental health challenges.
Prior to notMYkid, Kristen worked for Community Bridges Inc. (CBI) for over 17 years. As CBI’s Vice President of Community Relations; Development, she was responsible for all agency public affairs, community development projects and prevention efforts throughout the State of Arizona. Her passion for this work comes from her own personal experience with a substance use disorder and fierce determination to reduce stigma that keeps people from getting the help they need. She is an active member of the recovery community and meet individuals, families and communities where they are on the continuum of prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery. Kristen holds a Master of Arts in Education Degree in Program Management from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Health Promotion; Disease Prevention Studies from Ithaca College in New York.
When she is not living out her passion for the heart work at notMYkid, you can find Kristen on the move with her teen boys at sporting events, hiking, practicing hot yoga, or enjoying downtime with her husband Jon and their two rescue pups, Duke and Oreo.