Sophie Lemus Kristensen
GAIN Board Co-Director of Education
GAIN Email: education@gainhighered.org
Board Member Responsibilities: Identifying the continuing education needs of members and facilitating opportunities for personal and professional growth
Institution: Portland Community College
Position at Institution: Academic Advisor
LinkedIn: Sophie Lemus Kristensen
Sophie Lemus Kristensen (they/ she/ elle/ ella) is a sick and disabled Xicane artist and educator from Portland, Oregon. They previously presented at the GAIN 2023 and 2024 conferences and are excited to now be serving as GAIN's Co-Director of Education. Sophie earned their Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy through the Postsecondary, Adult, and Continuing Education program at Portland State University in 2022. Their areas of interest are in teaching and learning, critical disability studies, and chronic illness identity development. They are passionate about ensuring access for sick and disabled college students, particularly within STEM learning environments. As an undergraduate, she studied mathematics, engineering, and technical theatre. She graduated from PSU with a BS in Mathematics in 2019. Since 2015, Sophie has worked in numerous areas of education including admissions, faculty development, academic affairs, student life, STEM, the arts, new student programming, and secondary education. Sophie most enjoys teaching and supporting students' learning within the classroom environment. They currently teach academic skills courses for first-year students at Portland State University. Outside of the classroom, Sophie works as an academic advisor for New Student Engagement at Portland Community College. Sophie is also a theatrical scenic artist who enjoys getting messy while painting sets for local theatre companies. When they are not working, they enjoy lounging around with their dogs Macy and Ripley, preferably near the ocean, drinking coffee or Earl Grey tea.