School
Kristina Leyden, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, CHSE is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner for 25+ years working in various institutions and clinics. She joined the Conway School of Nursing as the Assistant Dean of the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Clinical Assistant Professor in January of 2025. Her experience includes undergraduate leadership and undergraduate and graduate nursing curriculum, course development, and faculty mentoring. In addition, she is a certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and develops simulation practices and education tools to help novice faculty in simulation. Her excellence in practice is recognized through the Texas Nursing Association, District 9, Outstanding Nurse Award, St. Thomas Aquinas Excellence in Teaching Award, the Joseph M. McFadden Excellence in Service Award, and the Harris County Medical Society Auxiliary Clinical Excellence Award. She is the creator and editor of an online creative reflections journal, first of its kind. She has spoken on her research areas of interest locally, nationally, and internationally on her work with chronobiology, creative reflections, simulation, and complementary health.
She grew up in the largest US state. Her college years kept moving her South. After meeting her husband in Galveston-UTMB, she thought she would forever be destined for the heat of Houston! Alas, she has been called back to the North! She has an urban homestead with 6 chickens, 5 kids, 4 rabbits, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 goats, 2 sheep, 1 large tortoise and a partridge in a pear tree. In her spare time, she runs crossroads cultural center with a friend. She loves art and everything that has to do with beauty. She is a self-proclaimed "apothecarist", retrieving herbs from her own garden.