As a Mental Health (MH) Consultant, Krista is responsible for assisting the MH Director and Assistant MH Director with updating mental health related policies and procedures, providing administrative support, assisting in creating and modifying MH related forms, and assisting in creating and providing trainings as needed/available. Krista also assists in the hiring process for new MH employees. Krista was the QCHC MH Director for over six years prior to taking on this new role. Prior to joining QCHC, Krista provided therapy services to inmates at the Shelby County Jail in Columbiana, Alabama for about four years, and also trained jail officers on topics such as suicide prevention and recognizing mental illness in inmates. Krista is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the states of Alabama and Tennessee and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). Krista is currently a member of the Shelby County Division of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She is a Certified Correctional Health Professional with Mental Health Specialty (CCHP-MH) by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). She is also actively involved with the American Jail Association, including presenting at conferences and being on the Conference Planning Committee for the last three years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Social Work from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a Master of Education in Community Counseling from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama.