Kristen is a percussionist, vocalist, teacher and organizer living and working in  Washington, DC. In 2000 she helped initiate the activist drumming ensemble Rhythm Workers Union, known for its hand-built drum cart the “MotherDrumShip,” and its legions of drummers who created a spectacle at hundreds of protests, rallies and events through 2007. Since 2008, Kristen has lead an intergenerational, all-women’s West African drumming performance troupe called the Bele Bele Rhythm Collective.