Kristi has spent the past ten years working with both community and family foundations, deploying capital and supporting programs driven by place-centered approaches to systems-level impact. Her grantmaking approach is grounded in principles of participatory philanthropy and trust-based practice.
Early in her career, Kristi served as Resident Engagement Project Manager for Incourage Community Foundation. In collaboration with community partners, Kristi’s work focused on the development of a resident-owned design process for the redevelopment of the Tribune Building – a vacant riverfront property in downtown Wisconsin Rapids. Kristi later returned to Incourage as a consultant to support the incorporation of community organizing and authentic resident engagement practices into long-term institutional strategy and communications.
Kristi later worked as Associate Program Officer for the Walton Family Foundation’s K-12 Education Team in Washington, DC. During her tenure with the foundation, Kristi worked alongside grantee partners dedicated to improving the educational ecosystems in the communities they called home. She supported the stewardship of grant proposals across a wide range of education related investment areas but specialized in grants focused on amplifying parent and trusted community voices in advocacy and grassroots engagement efforts.
Most recently, Kristi served as Strategic Partnerships Lead with the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health Group with the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. In this role, Kristi focused on advancing a statewide network of partners committed to ensuring all Wisconsin residents have a fair chance to be healthy in their homes, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods by acknowledging power as a root cause of health inequities and social injustice.
Kristi has a Master of Science in Human Ecology – Civil Society and Community Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Certificate in Leadership Studies from St. Norbert College. Her graduate research focused on rural youth outmigration and the relationship between community engagement and place-based attachment. Kristi currently serves on the Board of Camp Hope for Kids – a weekend camp in Wisconsin for kids and families grieving the death of a loved one. Kristi was born and raised in Central Wisconsin and now lives with her family in Madison.