About

ABOUT

BIOGRAPHY

Kristi Sturtz, ALM, AICP

President

Kristi J. Sturtz, ALM, AICP is the President of Sturtz Public Management. Kristi has twenty-five years of experience as a community developer. She has worked with several organizations and communities on a range of collaborative, strategic investment initiatives involving arts, cultural heritage, economic development, infrastructure development, the environment.

Her most recent and most notable work has involved facilitating a collaboration of seven rural communities in East Allen County, Indiana called the NewAllen Alliance. Efforts of the Alliance have resulted in an Outstanding Planning Initiative Award from the American Planning Association Small Town and Rural Communities Division for the NewAllen Strategic Investment Plan and an Indiana Regional Stellar Communities Designation for the creation of the East Allen Rural Revival Regional Development Plan.

Kristi has a Master of Liberal Arts Degree in Global Development Practice - Extension Studies from Harvard University. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs with a concentration in Public Management from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. Kristi is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a Qualified History Professional with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and an accredited Grant Administrator for the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.

CORE VALUES

Authenticity

Stay true to genuine attributes of people and place.

Collaboration

Initiatives are most successful when partnerships are in play.

Leadership

Building leadership capacity is the key to long-term success.

Quality

Commit the time and resources needed for plans, projects, and programs to provide a return on investment and endure.

Systems-thinking

Give holistic consideration to the interrelation of issues and interventions.

Sustainabilty

Plans, projects and programs are developed through the lens of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Triple Bottom Line.

SERVICES

Planning

Solid planning is the foundation of healthy communities. Sturtz Public Management assists communities and organizations by providing comprehensive, strategic and project specific planning services.
Focus areas include comprehensive planning, destination development, downtown redevelopment, neighborhood livability, small business and entrepreneurship, and infrastructure development.

Planning is a continuous, engaged process to guide, preserve, develop or redevelop a neighborhood, community or region. Community organizations plan in order to:

Offer better choices for where and how people work and live
Enable civic leaders, business interests and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people’s lives
Encourage strategic investment of resources through coordination and leverage with stakeholders
Build the capacity of the community to sustain public health, safety and welfare
Provide for continuity and “building” of initiatives in light of political change
Promote economic development and an improved quality of life
Ensure orderly growth by identifying where and how growth should occur
Create sound policies for development based on needs and priorities
Provide procedures for ensuring new physical development is coordinated with other uses and needs related to it

Fund Development

Sturtz Public Management excels at identifying and securing essential funding needed to accomplish community projects and programs. Funding portfolios often include both public and private investments. Tools and tactics include capital improvement planning, private investment pitches, advocacy to and alignment of funding agencies, grant writing, tax increment financing, and the offering of economic incentives.

Federal, state, local, and non-profit grant writing is a specialty of Sturtz Public Management.

Over $300 Million has been raised and managed for numerous communities and organizations.

Local and Regional Ecosystem Engagement

Sturtz Public Management has strong experience in local and regional capacity building by bringing together community governments, businesses, and non-profits to collectively plan and implement projects. Sturtz facilitates public input processes through charettes, focus groups, surveys, and one-on-one stakeholder interviews. Sturtz has helped establish and guide civic organizations such as downtown improvement districts, Main Street organizations, historic preservation commissions, and local foundations.

“I’ve had the opportunity to observe and work with Kristi Sturtz on a wide range of projects over a period spanning almost two decades. In all of these efforts - ranging from annexation strategy for the City of Fort Wayne to strategic planning and grant administration for the Northeast Indiana Fund, to her work in advancing collaboration among communities in East Allen County - Kristi has consistently provided strong leadership and thoughtful, actionable guidance based on solid analysis and broad experience. I have always respected Kristi as a trusted partner in our work together.”

– Mark Becker, Previous Deputy Mayor, City of Fort Wayne and Executive Director, Northeast Indiana Fund.