Kristina K. Larsen is a lawyer, activist, and advocate for those facing discrimination, harassment, retaliation or other challenges in academia and the workplace. She is passionate about educating and empowering individuals so that they can communicate effectively, make informed decisions confidently, and ultimately succeed in their respective fields.

With more than twenty years experience in higher education, human resources, and employment law, Kristina’s unique perspective allows her to successfully assist individuals as they identify the root causes of conflict, understand applicable laws and policies, determine risk tolerance and goals, and create and implement appropriate solutions using forward-thinking strategies that avert or minimize harm.

Upon receiving her Bachelor of Arts in political science from UC San Diego she began her career in higher education as a departmental human resources manager. She became interested in the legal aspects of her position and the close connection between the law and human resources. Acting upon this passion Kristina attended law school at the University of San Diego and became a member of the California bar in 2003. Upon earning her Juris Doctor, she dedicated herself to conflict resolution and litigation prevention. With these goals in mind, Kristina was appointed as the inaugural Director of Academic Employee Relations at UC San Diego, transitioned into the role of Senior Advisor and Director of Academic Policy Development, and ultimately served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel overseeing all aspects of the human resources program for UC San Diego’s academic employees, including compensation, equal opportunity, employee relations, policy development, appointment, advancement and training.

Kristina is a formally trained mediator, a skilled presenter and instructor, and has led numerous trainings and appeared as a speaker at workshops both within the university setting and for external organizations.

She has represented and advised individuals at numerous universities and other academic institutions including UCLA, UC San Diego, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, NASA, the Scripps Research Institute, the Smithsonian, Florida Institute of Technology, Cornell, Duke, and many more.