Kristie Ballard attended and graduated from Lincoln County Schools.  She graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004 with undergraduate degrees in English and American History and in 2005 with a Masters degree in teaching.  Mrs. Ballard taught all levels of English at Hopewell High School in Huntersville for ten years before transitioning to an administrative role there.  In 2014, she returned to Lincolnton High School as Assistant Principal of Instruction before becoming principal of West Lincoln Middle School in 2017.  Ms. Ballard lives in Lincolnton with her husband John, who leads Environmental Health and Safety at McGuire Nuclear Plant, and her two children Cameron, age 5, and Jackson, age 3.