headshot of OLLI director Kristen Gates

OLLI at UC Davis Welcomes New Director Kristen Gates!

  • by Archita Mandal

Kristen Gates, Ed.D., is the new director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Davis. A California native, she has extensive experience in higher education, having served as director of faculty engagement at UC Berkeley's School of Information and executive director of education at the Science and Technology Center, TRUST. 

Her previous roles include leading public education programs at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and advancing STEM education initiatives across public and private institutions. Kristen holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Southern California and a master’s in industrial arts from San Francisco State University. 

She is passionate about fostering lifelong learning and community engagement. Kristen lives with her husband and their Labrador Retriever, Haggis.