Survivor 51 · The Open Era
Kristin Flickinger
- Age
- 49
- Occupation
- Crisis management
- From
- Ketchum, ID · lives in Santa Barbara, CA
A crisis-management consultant who ran Santa Barbara's Pacific Pride Foundation from 2020 to 2024 and now works for herself. She has been applying to Survivor since the middle of season 1 — about as long as she has worked in LGBTQ+ nonprofits, which is roughly 25 years for each.
GAME STATE
Solved the anchor puzzle with Cristian while Toka stalled, clinching immunity for a seven-person Savu. +6.
Kristin's season so far
- Season
- +12
- Solo
- +5
- Tribe wins
- 2
- of 21
- #4
- Episode 3“What I’m Smellin’ Is Stinky”+6
Savu wins immunity challenge obstacle course, sending Toka to Tribal CouncilEleven Toka, seven Savu, four Toka on the bench. Toka led through the wood shavings, the chained crate and the coconut hoist, then Jenna and Thien An stalled on the anchor puzzle. Cristian and Kristin put Savu's together: immunity, four egg-laying hens, and a safe night for a tribe that just lost two players.Clinched the challenge+3TRIBE1 win +3 - Episode 2“Weaponized Honesty”+3Safe at Tribal+1In on the blindside+2
- Episode 1“Permanent Uncertainty”+3TRIBE1 win +3
Kristin plays like…
Matched on Kristin's game so far (clutch). It changes as the season does.
Kristin's orbit
As of Episode 3. Closer means a stronger bond. From the votes, the scenes the recaps wrote up, and relationships our editors have confirmed.
Bonds
- Cristian · allyVoted together for Ana in Ep 2. On screen together in “Savu wins immunity challenge obstacle course, sending Toka to Tribal Council”.
- Alexis · voted togetherVoted together for Ana in Ep 2.
- Eric · voted togetherVoted together for Ana in Ep 2.
- Linnea · voted togetherVoted together for Ana in Ep 2.
- Sharonda · voted togetherVoted together for Ana in Ep 2.
- Thien An · on screen togetherOn screen together in “Savu wins immunity challenge obstacle course, sending Toka to Tribal Council”.
- Jenna · on screen togetherOn screen together in “Savu wins immunity challenge obstacle course, sending Toka to Tribal Council”.
Against
- Ana · voted againstKristin voted for Ana (Ep 2).
The preseason read
The oldest player in the cast at 49, in a profession that is literally about staying calm and controlling the story when everything is on fire. Older players in the New Era have had a genuinely rough time — first boots or first-swap casualties — so the age risk is real. But crisis management is the exact skill the Open Era's unpredictability should reward.
What to watch for
Surviving the first two votes. If she is there at the swap, she is there for a while.
Off the island
- 1She led the Pacific Pride Foundation as executive director from 2020 to 2024, and now runs her own crisis-management practice.
- 2She has been applying to Survivor since the middle of season 1 — 25 years of applications.
- 3At 49 she is the oldest castaway of the season.
- 4She built an intergenerational culinary arts program for LGBTQ+ youth and seniors, which she names as her proudest work.
In Kristin's words
- Hobbies
- “Road cycling, training my husky dog to talk with buttons, applying for Survivor (I'm on the hunt for a new hobby...).”
- Pet peeves
- “I really dislike the term 'pet peeve.' Like, what even is that? Sounds like a poltergeist dog.”
Answers given to CBS and published by Entertainment Weekly, August 2026.
TREEMAIL
Latest articles & podcasts featuring Kristin
Who Will Win Survivor 51? Final 17 Winner Analysis
Once Upon An Island
Who Will Win Survivor 51? Final 19 Winner Analysis
Once Upon An Island
Survivor 51 sees brutal injuries for Kristin and Brady and a historic tribal council - Episode 2 recap inside - AOL.com
Google News (Survivor 51)
Kristin has never played Survivor before. The preseason read and what to watch for are speculation built from the age, occupation and hometown CBS announced on August 26, 2026 — draft-table conversation, not scouting. The biography, facts and quotes come from Kristin's published cast questionnaire and press coverage. Now that the season is airing, we're replacing the guesswork with what actually happens.
About Survivor 51
Survivor 51 is subtitled The Open Era: for the first time, every twist, idol and advantage from the show's first fifty seasons is back in play, in any order and without warning. All 21 players are first-timers, and they start in just two tribes — the first two-tribe season since Winners at War. Filmed in Mamanuca Islands, Fiji. Premiered Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 8/7c on CBS with a two-hour episode.
More to explore
The Cast
All 21 first-timers, ranked 1–21, with the numbers behind the cast list.
Head to Head
Any two castaways side by side: points by kind, episode by episode, and what they shared on screen.
Elimination Order
Who went home, when, and how the boot order is shaping up.
Survivor Bingo
Free printable watch-party cards. Share the link, share the card.