Kristen served as the Grants Coordinator for the Mahoning County Sanitary Engineering Department for eight years. Her grant writing has secured millions of dollars for our community and local non-profit organizations.

Through her consulting firm, KO Consulting, LLC, Kristen currently serves as consultant and project lead on many economic development projects in the Mahoning Valley; works on business and grant development for multiple clients in the Rust Belt region; and is actively facilitating the development of Opportunity Zone projects to bring economic development and growth back to the Youngstown area.

Kristen volunteers her time in the community on numerous projects in organizations that include Big Brothers Big Sisters; CASTLO Community Improvement Corporation; Mahoning County Young Democrats; Mahoning/Trumbull Democratic Women’s Caucus; The League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown; Struthers Rotary Community Corps; and YWCA of the Mahoning Valley.

Kristen published her first book in 2015 entitled “Winning Elections: A Blueprint for the Public Servant in US” and a grant course in 2021. Through this course, she makes more opportunity for the valley by teaching young talent the ins and outs of securing funds for pivotal projects.

Combining community development with health and wellness is Samantha’s forte. Having lived in Denver, Stockholm, and Amsterdam, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique and international perspective to creating more connected and navigable cities and to improving quality of life for residents.

Samantha holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor’s degree in geography from Youngstown State University. She comes back to the Youngstown area to share her knowledge, skills, and creativity to advocate for the connection between holistic wellness and urban planning, with a particular focus on urban food systems; active transportation; and recreation.

Samantha is deeply committed to simplifying over-complicated systems to create stronger, more independent, resilient, and wholesome societies. It is her ultimate goal to empower communities with the knowledge they need to succeed in their environments and to demonstrate first hand how residents can be more actively engaged in increasing health and wellness outcomes through active participation and civic engagement.

Combining a background in business and marketing with experience in non-profit development, Victoria is passionate about finding creative opportunities to drive purpose-driven partnerships.

Victoria started her career more than a decade ago working in Youngstown neighborhoods with the YNDC, and has since lent her knowledge and skills to a variety of organizations working in marketing, tech start-ups, entrepreneurial ventures, nonprofit administration, and global community and corporate development. As a nonprofit development professional, Victoria’s diverse portfolio consisted of national and global partners, spanning from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, civic groups, and community organizations. After 7 years living in Virginia, Victoria returned to her roots in the valley to join the team at KO Consulting as Director, Business Development & Operations. In this capacity, Victoria wears many hats – managing marketing, communication and operations functions for the team, while lending her diverse experience to help clients identify right-fit opportunities to market and grow their organizations.

She is passionate about communicating the immense growth potential in the Mahoning Valley, and ensuring the businesses that have chosen to make this area their home base have the tools they need to achieve long-term success. 

Matthew brings a passion for entrepreneurship and small business development to the KO Consulting Team. He grew up watching his grandfather and father run a small business, and knows the struggle and pride that come along with being a business owner. In his day to day work for KO, Matthew utilizes this empathy and passion to connect with our clients and ensure they have the resources they need to succeed. Matthew is a graduate of Kent State University, where he majored in Business Administration with a focus in Management. While at Kent State he was awarded scholarships to study abroad in both London, England and Dublin, Ireland.