Our Board President is an Unsung Hero!

Originally from Texas, Kristyn Long moved to the Pacific Northwest as an infant. Her love for the area evolved during her childhood growing up in University Place. But it was after years of building a successful career, marriage and family that her pathway to combining her skills and passion as a leadership volunteer with KiDiMu, the Kids Discovery Museum on Bainbridge Island, became clear.

During college at a small, private school in British Columbia, Long developed an interest in banking. Following graduation, she worked as a teller for Wells Fargo, assuming positions in Tacoma, Federal Way and Auburn. She made the segue from retail banking management to the commercial real estate side of the operation at the bank, landing in its Commercial Real Estate Group’s office in downtown Seattle. There, as fate decreed, she met her current husband.

“After 12 years in banking, I accepted a position with a local developer, Investco, to organize and streamline their operations. However, when our son was born two years later, I decided to leave the workforce to focus on family,” she explains.

Long speaks openly about her personal battles during that period. “That transition was challenging, especially as I navigated postpartum depression while adjusting to motherhood,” she says.

But it also proved to be a driving force in the family’s next big step. “For seven years, my husband and I would sail from Seattle to Bainbridge Island on the weekends, often saying, ‘If we start a family, we should move here,’” she describes. In the spring of 2018, they made that dream a reality, moving to the island with their young family, a 2-year-old son and a 10-month-old daughter.

Once settled on the island, Long credits KiDiMu for becoming a key resource, sanctuary and a personal focus for her abundant passion and interest in childhood education and growth.