For Kristin Ahlberg choosing the University of Wisconsin–Superior felt like a natural step – one deeply rooted in family tradition and community connection.

“I was born in Duluth, spent my early years in Superior, and grew up in Bennett, Wisconsin,” she said. “My parents were UW-Superior alumni, as were many of my teachers. I was very familiar with the campus from an early age.”

It wasn’t just familiarity that guided her decision. As a student at St. Croix High School in Solon Springs, Ahlberg was able to experience the cultural and academic life at UW-Superior – from KUWS, the on-campus radio station, and Wisconsin Public Radio broadcasts, musical performances in the Holden Fine Arts Center and Old Main and speech competitions throughout campus.

Ahlberg graduated summa cum laude in May 1997 with a double major in history and political science, earning departmental honors in both disciplines. While at UWS, she was shaped by the mentorship and teaching of several influential faculty members.

“Joel Sipress, Khalil ‘Haji’ Dokhanchi, Thomas Hartman, Ronald Mershart, W. Pope Wright and Karen Bahnick – they all had a profound impact on me, both as a historian and as a person,” said Ahlberg

After UW-Superior, she continued her education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where Ahlberg studied diplomatic history under diplomatic historian Lloyd Ambrosius. Although academic job prospects were limited at the time, a timely suggestion from a professor led her to apply for a role with the Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State – a decision that would define her professional career.

Ahlberg joined the office in September 2003. For the first four years, she worked as a technical editor on the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series, the official documentary history of significant U.S. diplomatic activities. Later transitioning into a FRUS compiler role, in 2011, Ahlberg was promoted to assistant general editor. In that leadership role, she not only compiled her own volumes but also conducted substantive reviews of others’ work and helped coordinate archival access.

Throughout her two-decade career, Ahlberg contributed to more than 80 FRUS volumes, including compiling or co-compiling ten herself. One of her proudest achievements was compiling the volume documenting the Jimmy Carter administration’s human rights and humanitarian affairs policies – an area she continues to explore in her current research and writing.

“It is impossible to understand and contextualize the events of today unless we are willing to examine the past, and that means all aspects of it, even the ones that might make us uncomfortable,” she said. “We have to sit with these feelings and also try to do better.”

Ahlberg officially retired from federal service on June 27, 2024, and has since relocated with her husband and son back to Lincoln, Nebraska. But retirement hasn’t slowed her down. She is currently writing her second book, under contract with the University Press of Kansas, focusing on human rights and foreign assistance during the Carter administration.

Outside of her scholarly work, Ahlberg stays active with the broader historical and academic communities. She serves on the Board of Directors for both the UW-Superior Alumni & Friends Foundation (UWSAFF) and the Camp Nebagamon Scholarship Fund (CNSF) and contributes her expertise through committee work with professional organizations such as the National Council on Public History (NCPH), Organization of American Historians (OAH), and the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR), among others.

When she’s not researching, writing, or mentoring, you’ll likely find her enjoying life’s simpler pleasures – knitting, baking or relaxing near a Northwestern Wisconsin lake with friends and family.