Christen is passionate about partnering with families in supporting their children’s communication and language development. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, Christen studied Cognitive Science, concentrating in the fields of Cognitive Psychology and Linguistics. This experience deepened her interest in the human mind and its capacity for language, and she became eager to learn ways of supporting healthy cognitive and linguistic functioning in children and adults. Christen then studied speech-language pathology at the University of Virginia, graduating with a master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. During her clinical training, she gained experience providing speech therapy services in a variety of contexts, including schools, outpatient clinics, and inpatient intensive care units. A native of Roanoke herself, Christen is grateful for the opportunity to provide speech therapy services to local families in her home community.