Krista Kartson
Senior Director, Sponsorship Initiatives
Krista Kartson is a sponsor, the granddaughter of Ukrainian refugees, and the Senior Director for Sponsorship Initiatives with Welcome.US. In her role, Ms. Kartson equips institutional partners and sponsors with the information and resources to do what they do best: welcome newcomers and help them thrive.
Ms. Kartson has a 15-year career in international relief and development—and now domestic refugee resettlement, volunteering with Peace Corps Response in Ukraine during the Euromaidan Revolution, working with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the west Africa Ebola crisis, and serving in Iraq with Samaritan’s Purse as millions of people fled their homes because of ISIS.
Before joining Welcome.US in 2022, Ms. Kartson led the Samaritan’s Purse Afghan Resettlement Program, mobilizing churches across the country to sponsor Afghan allies evacuated after the fall of Kabul. It was in this role that she first understood how the support that she received from churches while overseas had the ability to transform generations through private sponsorship right here in America.
Ms. Kartson holds a BA in International Studies from American University and an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a 2025 Public Life Fellow with the Center for Christianity and Public Life.
