Kristen Lee EdD, LICSW

Kristen Lee, Ed.D., LICSW is an internationally recognized, award-winning behavioral science clinician, researcher, educator, and comedian from Boston, Massachusetts. As Behavioral Science Faculty at Northeastern University, her research and teaching interests include individual and organizational well-being and resilience, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations. She works with organizations and leaders around the world to use the science of behavioral change and human potential to build healthy mental health cultures that help prevent burnout and promote organizational and human sustainability.

Dr. Kris is author of RESET: Make the Most of Your Stress, Winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2015 Motivational Book, best-selling Mentalligence: A New Psychology of Thinking-Learn What it Takes to be More Agile, Mindful and Connected in Today’s World, and Worth the Risk: How to Microdose Bravery to Grow Resilience, Connect More, and Offer Yourself to the World, a 2022 Next Big Idea Book Club nominee and Nautilus Book Award Silver Medal Winner. She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and Thrive Global. Her work has been featured on NPR, Ted, Forbes, Fast Company, and CBS radio.

She's the producer and host of Crackin’ Up: Where Therapy Meets Comedy. Her Ted X talk, The Risk You Must Take has over 427K views. In 2022, she received an EdTech First Place MVP award for her work on addressing mental health challenges in higher education. Some of the venues she speaks at include Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Nationwide, Snapchat, American Chemical Society, and Johnson and Johnson.

A Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, she's known for her advocacy in promoting increased mental health integration in social policies and institutions to facilitate access and improved health outcomes in the U.S. and across the globe. She's served as a U.S. federal grant reviewer for the Departments of Minority Affairs, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, and Health and Human Services. She's a member of NASW and APA. She holds a BS from Worcester State University, an MSW from Boston University, and an Ed.D. from Northeastern University. In 2011, she was the recipient of an Excellence in Teaching Award from Northeastern University for her “depth of knowledge” and “engaging teaching style”. In 2023, she received an honorary doctorate in humane letters; in 2015, she a Distinguished Professional Achievement Award from Worcester State University as “a leader who lives by the highest intellectual and ethical standards”.