As Director of Strategic Relations, Kristin Newkirk works closely with the Executive Management team to ensure that executive initiatives and projects are completed in a timely manner and stays focused on company goals. She serves as the liaison for the REL Southwest Governing Board and is responsible for forming long-standing and successful relationships with external customers.

Prior to joining Edvance Research, Newkirk was director of special projects for the Texas Ethics Commission, where she established project goals and objectives and developed, monitored, and maintained project plans, work assignments, standards and budgets for a number of projects, including a project to rewrite the agency’s campaign finance electronic filing software.  Newkirk was also a program manager at Harcourt Assessment, where she oversaw four custom statewide assessment programs, and provided services such as contract development, financial management, operational design, and overall project management.

Newkirk holds a bachelor’s degree in geography, with concentrations in urban planning, spatial analysis and resource planning, from the University of Texas at Austin, where she has also pursued graduate course work in community and regional planning.