Hi there, I’m Kristin Friel, one of the generalists in the department. I was born and raised in central Indiana and will always consider myself a “Hoosier” with strong basketball genes! I went to Wellesley College outside of Boston and then Harvard Medical School. I did my residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center also in Boston. I met my husband on the first day of medical school and after we completed training, we moved to the Lehigh Valley where he grew up. We came here in 1999. Although it was tough to leave the great food, friends and city life of Boston, we have been quite content in the Valley where we have raised three kids. My husband is the oldest of six kids and we are very close to his family.

I lived with my grandmother during high school and was fortunate enough to be close to my four great grandmothers growing up. Attending an all women’s college was a natural next step for me and taking care of women was an obvious career choice although my third year OBGYN rotation was so miserable that I had to take a year off to reconsider my path. Ultimately, I came back to OBGYN and truly the best part of my job is helping to take care of unique women as they journey through life and cultivate meaningful relationships with them over time.

Over the years, I have been truly impressed by the quality of our residents and how they function as their own community-learning the ropes of the field but also working to take care of each other. I think our network is the best of both worlds---superior clinical care in a setting where learners get to know their teachers and vice versa.

Professional interests have included undergraduate medical education, simulation, teamwork training, and most recently growing a sexual health practice. I recently became the Vice Chair of Education for the department which is a new role. I hope to grow our current educational efforts and cultivate new areas and opportunities to learn and teach together.

Fun fact: We love Escape Rooms!