Krista Ray DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

Krista Ray is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice and Teaching at the University of Colorado Anschutz Campus, College of Nursing, and a board-certified FNP practicing in pediatric primary care at the Child Health Clinic affiliated with Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO). Dr. Ray was appointed to CU Anschutz Nursing faculty in 2018 following several years of adjunct faculty roles in undergraduate nursing programs at CU Anschutz Nursing and Aurora University, IL, and as a clinical scholar and preceptor for undergraduate and graduate (FNP) nursing students.

Dr. Ray has over 25 years of nursing experience across acute, chronic, and primary pediatric care settings, as well as maternal-child home health, and family practice. In her two decades as a family nurse practitioner, she has practiced in pediatric nephrology caring for children and families experiencing rare and medically complex kidney disorders at some of the nation’s premier pediatric hospitals including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (2007-2015) and the School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Colorado (2016-2022).

Dr. Ray’s academic scholarship interests include pediatric hypertension, kidney function preservation, and cardiovascular disease risk reduction in children and young adults, as well as practice improvement. Her DNP capstone project improved the interdisciplinary management of elevated blood pressure in pediatric patients in the primary care setting. Additionally, Dr. Ray served as a volunteer for the National Kidney Foundation (2008-2019) and was a member of the Kidney Advocacy Committee that lobbied at the state and national level for critical legislation to remove barriers for live-donors—which have since successfully passed!

Dr. Ray has presented at local, regional, and national conferences on topics related to pediatric nephrology with an emphasis on screening, prevention, and practical management for the primary care provider.