Creating beautiful things together has been a long standing philosophy.

Christen participated in Canada World Youth (2014-2015) and lived in Whitehorse, YT where she attended her first storytelling gathering at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. This experienced sparked an eagerness to seek stories far and wide. Following her return to complete her undergraduate degree, she founded Talking Heads: Storytelling Collective in Halifax, NS bringing together student and public community members to revive oral storytelling in public storytelling forums (Funded by Dalhousie’s Justice and Action Student Fund). She published additional podcasts in her final year: Beyond Belief Discussions, Sowers of Sustainability, & Stories of the Shubenacadie (her very first audio pieces).

Her interest in storytelling led her to participate in the S.A.L.T (Serving & Learning Together) program and worked alongside Sinomlando: Centre for Oral History & Memory Work in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (2019-2020). As a Communications and Program Coordinator she supported, developed and co-facilitated projects using psychosocial therapies to build resilience to assist in trauma recovery of diverse populations. She co-facilitated youth programs with the Children’s Radio Foundation and Northdale Hospital to share challenges and victories of youth (listen here).

Christen helped kick-start a 3-yearImmigration, Refugee & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) grant at MABELLEarts Community Arts Company in Etobicoke, ON. She helped implement art-based programming to newcomers part of Toronto Community Housing (TCH) residences to foster deep and thoughtful community connections. She co-produced Mabellearts’ first ever Podcast for their annual Iftar Night celebrations (listen here) to create a space for festivities during Covid-19. She contributed to Placing Parks national community arts project part of the production team.

Currently, Christen is a co-producer at Undercurrents with Communication Specialist, Ken Ogasawara. Undercurrents is an experimental podcast to share stories from program participants, volunteers, staff, and others, a part of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) community.

Monday to Friday, she holds the position of a Community Health Promoter at Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services bridging community arts, healthcare, and settlement. She manages a 4-year (April 22 - March 2026) Public Health Agency Grant (PHAC) Project, HEAL - Hubs of Expressive Arts for Life, conducting mixed methods research to develop an effective expressive arts approach for newcomer women survivors of domestic violence. The team consists of peer researchers, interprofessional healthcare and settlement staff, Immigrant Insight Scholar Fellows, Expressive Arts Therapists, students, volunteers, and community members.

Christen graduated from the University of Toronto with a Masters of Social Work focusing on Human Services Leadership and Management with a specialization in Ethnic Pluralism Studies from the Monk School of Global Affairs. She previously earned her Bachelor Degree (2012-2017), Environmental Sustainability & International Development minoring in Social Anthropology: Justice and Inequality at Dalhousie University.