Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA to Bob and Connie Brecht. She moved to Philadelphia to study at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a BA in English Literature. After living in Philadelphia for 6 years she moved to New York City to continue her education at Columbia University where she received her MA in English and Comparative Literature. After her graduate work she began a career in Product Management working on driving the direction of software products for large media companies like Time Out NY and Reuters as well as smaller tech startups, her most recent role having been at Teamshares, Inc.

Kristi was a lifelong lover of the performing arts and took advantage of all that New York had to offer. In 2009 she met her husband Chris Brady, and the couple married in 2013. In New York Kristi also found her passion for Olympic weightlifting, in which she competed on the national level as a master's athlete. Lovers of the outdoors, Kristi and Chris moved to Denver, CO in 2018 to fulfill their passion of hiking, skiing, and everything else that Colorado had to offer.

After a short but tough battle with cancer, Kristi passed surrounded by family comfortably at home. She is survived by her husband Chris, their Mini Australian Shepherd Belle, and her parents Robert and Connie.