Kirsti Ruud, MA — Staff ; Director, Education Abroad ; Education Abroad Office ; Areas of Expertise: International Education | Education Abroad | Study Abroad .

Kirsti holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Theology from Seattle University, where her graduate work centered on biocentric and eco-liberation theology - exploring the sacredness of all creation and the deep interconnections between environmental, economic, and racial justice. She also studied abroad in Madagascar through the School for International Training, an experience that continues to shape her commitment to global learning, climate justice, and solidarity.

Having studied, volunteered, and traveled across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Kirsti believes deeply in the transformative power of international education and its role in forming leaders for a more just and humane world. As Director of Education Abroad, and as an advisor to students in the Colleges of Science and Engineering and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, she works to expand access to meaningful, high-impact global experiences.

Outside of her professional role, Kirsti finds joy in hiking, exploring foods from around the world, and making pottery, practices that reflect her appreciation for creativity, culture, and connection to the natural world. She is also actively engaged in working for justice within her community, seeking to live out the same values that ground her academic and professional work.