Dr. Kristen Colchico, known as Dr. K, serves as the Department Chair of Public Health and the Program Coordinator for the Community Health Worker (CHW) program at Diablo Valley College, where she has been a full-time professor since 2002. She teaches courses such as Human Sexuality (PH 140), Health and Wellness (PH 124), Introduction to Public Health (PH 130), and leads the CHW certificate program. Dr. K is an active member of the DVC Curriculum Committee and collaborates with the California State Academic Senate on the transfer degree (AS-T) in Public Health Science (PHS).
Dr. Colchico holds a bachelor's degree in clinical Exercise and Nutrition from CSU East Bay, a master's degree in Kinesiology from Indiana State University, and a Doctorate in Public Health Education from Columbia University. Her doctoral dissertation is published in the American Journal of Public Health.
With 25 years of experience coaching young athletes, Dr. Colchico is also a devoted mother of three children, whose academic and athletic accomplishments include graduations from UC Santa Cruz and UCLA and a Division 1 soccer scholarship to CSU Sacramento. She and her family enjoy working out, hiking, playing cards, sharing meals, and traveling together, along with their two dogs.
Passionate about education, Dr. Colchico encourages her students to think critically and approach topics with a comprehensive lens, even when ideas challenge their pre-existing beliefs. She aims to teach skills for adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors, fostering community and environmental care, and inspiring advocacy that embraces diversity and drives positive change.
