Christina Barsky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Montana. There she works with current and future generations of public servants on solving wicked problems and meeting public challenges. Her scholarship broadly engages three foci: 1) election science; 2) front-line provision of basic public services; and, 3) the scholarship of teaching and learning.  Previously, in her career as a practitioner, Barsky held leadership positions with a premier public affairs firm and a regional nonprofit collaborative. She continues to serve as a research and strategy expert through her consultancy, SkyBar Solutions, and was elected to chair of the Missoula County Election Advisory Committee in 2021. She lives in Missoula with her partner and their dogs Gibson and Simon.

Raised between Michigan’s rural upper peninsula and Minneapolis, MN, Barsky has called the Last Best Place home for more than 17 years, first arriving in Montana as an AmeriCorps VISTA serving in Great Falls. She holds degrees from Skidmore College (B.A.), the University of Montana (M.P.A.), and Northern Arizona University (Ph.D.)

⬅️ Fun fact: that's me, my mother, and brother, at Vista Point on Beartooth Pass (I'll let you guess how long ago...).