CHRISTIE SIMONS

Jesus-follower, adoptive mom, counselor, passionate, leader, competitive, Enneagram 3
Likes: Yoga, travel, reading, wine, coffee, event planning, paddleboarding, mountains, podcasts
Dislikes: Traffic, arrogance, complacency, bug bites 

Christie is a counselor by training, holding her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Richmont Graduate University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She currently works as the director of a university counseling center and has also served as adjunct professor of psychology and program manager of a medication-assisted addiction treatment center. She enjoys leading teams and believes strongly in pursuing all things with excellence. Christie is also a certified Mental Health Trainer and has had the opportunity to speak, present, and train at many local and national conferences. 

Christie and her husband adopted their daughter through the foster system three years ago. Six years ago, their daughter was one of the over 5,000 children in the foster system in the Atlanta-area. Today, she is a happy, flourishing, adopted, and incredibly loved little girl. Christie’s desire to launch Atlanta Angels was born out of the pain of the knowledge that her story is an exception, and the call to change the story. Her vision to see every foster parent supported and every child in foster care know that they are valued, loved, and worthy in the metro-Atlanta area. 

Christie enjoys spending her free time with her family and friends. She especially enjoys watching her daughter at Tae Kwon Do, doing crafts, going on bike rides, playing games, going to Braves games, doing yoga, wine tasting and baking. She believes wholeheartedly in always taking a holistic view of people, that everyone has a story to tell, and that we need to change our idea of self-care from an escape from life to building a life that we don’t need to escape from.