Meet Cristen Reat | BridgingApps Co-Founder and Program Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristen Reat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristen, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Being a program and website of Easter Seals Greater Houston, BridgingApps provides resources, education, and information on apps and mobile devices to help people with disabilities target and improve skills and reach their highest levels of physical, social, and cognitive development. Working with a phenomenal team of individuals that ranges from special education teachers, social workers, and educational technologists, we are able to draw from many disciplines to deliver a range of services to assist people with disabilities and their families. BridgingApps vets, curates and maintains a database of around 2,500 mobile applications, and our aim is to help shortcut someone’s searching process of finding an app solution(s) that can enhance their life and that they might not even be aware of. In addition, three Assistive Technology Labs are available locally with adaptive aids, software and equipment for individuals to explore how technology can enhance their lives.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a military veteran of the U.S. Army, I served as a linguist, always having been interested in other cultures and languages. Later I worked for The World Affairs Council Greater Houston, a nonprofit organization that creates educational programs about international affairs. Then everything changed in 2003 when my younger son, Vincent, was born with Down syndrome, chronic health conditions and other disabilities. In 2010 I helped create a support group comprised of parents of young children with disabilities and therapists, who were interested in how technology could help our children thrive and grow. This effort grew into the website BridgingApps.org and we found a forever home at Easter Seals Greater Houston in 2011! There are relentless challenges as the work is funded largely through grants and fundraising, so that we can keep our services free of charge, as most of our clients are low income. Though we have faced many challenges, I am proud of how far we have come with a small, talented team of dedicated individuals. We serve around 2,000 clients in person, thousands more virtually, and our website content is accessed by 25,000 monthly visitors with another 40,000 accessing short videos on our YouTube channel from across the globe. Though our focus is disability, everyone has a reason to use our resources! Whether your father has Alzheimer’s and needs medication reminders, your best friend has a baby who is premature or your brother struggles with anxiety – there are technology tools that can make everyday life a bit easier.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love being outdoors, and I love the arts – so Houston is a wonderful place for both! We would certainly head to the Houston Botanic Garden, the Houston Zoo, Levy Park, and Hermann Park to hang out and relax. Visiting the Glassell School, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Museum of Natural Sciences would be priority destinations, especially on the hottest days of the year. No visit would be complete without a concert at the Houston Symphony and catching the latest production at the Alley Theatre. Every food imaginable is showcased in this city, so there we cannot go wrong!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
BridgingApps began as a group of parents of young children with disabilities and therapists who explored which apps could support their kids’ growth and development. We were in the process of starting a nonprofit organization from scratch when we met Elise Hough, CEO of Easter Seals Greater Houston. My shoutout is dedicated to Elise’s recognition that low-cost, commercially available mobile technology and apps would be game changers for people with disabilities, older adults and caregivers. Her vision was to invest in what we had started – a vast resource of shared knowledge on apps that could enhance everyday life for those of all ages with disabilities and special health care needs.

Website: https://bridgingapps.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgingapps/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgingapps/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgingApps

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bridgingapps

Image Credits
Easter Seals Greater Houston, the image of Cristen and her son Vincent credit to photographer Jenny Antill.