Kristen Paquette (she/her), MPH, CEO, President, is an accomplished leader with close to two decades of experience directing C4 Innovations’ (C4’s) programs, operations, and business development. Prior to serving as CEO and President, she held key positions at C4, including Chief Program Officer and Chief Operating Officer. As one of the founding team members, Kristen has contributed directly to the company’s success and growth. 

Kristen’s primary areas of expertise include prevention, early intervention, and recovery supports for youth and adults, recovery-oriented housing approaches, and recovery-oriented training, technical assistance, capacity building, model development, and applied evaluation. Currently, Kristen is leading the development and implementation of multiple training, technical assistance, and capacity building initiatives focused on community-based and peer-run organizations that support recovery and well-being. 

As part of her work, Kristen has also led the development and testing of Project Amp, a young adult, near-age peer-delivered intervention using a Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) framework. Project Amp is currently active in school- and community-based settings in Massachusetts and other states. She has led multiple statewide qualitative and mixed-methods research projects to identify and describe the state of different housing models and recovery supports. Kristen also helped develop the TICOMETER—the first validated instrument to measure trauma-informed care across human service and health care organizations. 

Prior to joining C4, Kristen worked at The National Center on Family Homelessness, was an AmeriCorps VISTA member with Habitat for Humanity in Georgia, and a volunteer supporting parents and children in family shelters in Massachusetts.  Her experiences as a family member inform and motivate her work to improve access to recovery-oriented housing and behavioral health services and supports across the lifespan. Kristen received a Master’s in Public Health from University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor’s degree from College of the Holy Cross.