Kristen Pena

Kristen Peña, Ed.D. serves as the Director of Faculty Development for the School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering (SOMME), a unit within ASU Health. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives to enhance faculty teaching effectiveness and foster a supportive, inclusive learning environment for both faculty and students. Kristen partners with academic leadership to design and implement onboarding, instructional training, and mentorship programs that develop clinical and foundational faculty as educators and academic leaders.

Previously, she worked at the Fulton Schools of Engineering Learning & Teaching Hub where she led the planning, development, and delivery of faculty professional learning programs, including communities of practice, professional book studies, workshops, quick-reference guides, and other instructional resources.

Kristen has held various higher education roles for over a decade, focusing on student success and development, faculty-directed initiatives, and entrepreneurial experiential learning. As a first-generation college graduate, she earned her Doctor of Education in Leadership and Innovation from ASU. Her research interests center on faculty professional development, faculty-student interactions, first-generation college student experiences, and strategies for retaining students in STEM fields.