Kristen Houser
Deputy Secretary, PA Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
Previously, Houser served for nine years as Chief Public Affairs Officer at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), and is recognized as a leading expert on sexual violence and is a go-to source for expert opinion to national media on sexual assault issues.
Her career has been dedicated to public health, sexual assault prevention and response, women’s health and wellness, and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. She is a Governor appointment member of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women and is a member of the Penn State College of Health and Human Development Alumni Society Board of Directors. Houser also served as the Executive Director of Centre Volunteers in Medicine, a non-profit that serves the medically underserved in Centre County, PA and chaired a countywide taskforce in Omaha, NE to foster philosophical and practical changes among mental health, substance abuse, and homeless service providers serving people with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders.
She holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University.
