Ms. Winter holds a BA degree in ASL Studies and a Master’s in Linguistics from Gallaudet University, and the Professional Certificate (the highest level certificate) from American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA).  She has been a full-time member of the University of Washington Linguistics Department faculty since September 2010.  Prior to joining UW, she taught ASL at different universities and colleges for over 20 years, including several years at Gallaudet University. Kristi is currently the President of the Washington State chapter of ASLTA and gives presentations and workshops on ASL and ASL Linguistics to teachers of ASL.

For her MA degree research projects, Kristi researched numerical incorporation in Japanese Sign Language as well as regional differences between Black ASL signers in the Northern and Southern states.  She also was involved in researching ASL phonology acquisition in first language (L1) ASL by young deaf and hearing children.  Her main research interests are in the sociolinguistics of Deaf communities, ASL morphology, second language (L2) ASL acquisition by both deaf and hearing learners, and ASL teaching methods and strategies.