Kristen Olson joined Historic Ithaca in 2007 for a summer internship, and has been on the staff full-time since July 2008.  A native of Virginia, Kristen traveled north to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College in 2003, focusing on fine art and anthropology.  In 2006 she moved to Ithaca with her husband Will to pursue graduate studies in Historic Preservation Planning at Cornell.  She received her Master of Arts degree in January 2009, with a thesis on National Park Service management of a rural historic district in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.