Christie graduated from Minnesota School of Business in 1996 from the Veterinary Assistant program. She worked in private practice (Brighton Veterinary Hospital) for two years. After a brief career change, she started at the Animal Humane Society (Golden Valley) in 2001 as a veterinary technician and then moved to a role as a surgery technician in the stationary clinic in 2003. She transferred onto the mobile surgical unit in 2007. Christie was part of the MN SNAP startup in 2010.
She has always loved all the things that Minnesota offers and the outdoors: biking, running around the lakes, snowboarding, wake-boarding, camping, etc. The most pets she ever had at one time were five total – three owned cats, one cockatiel, and a foster cat. Her favorite color is green, and her favorite pet name is Troy – the name of her first rescue cat. He was a great companion for nine years [citation].