A writer and consultant, Kristin shapes stories that resonate with policymakers, media, funders and the public.

Kristin looking away

Kristin O’Keefe
Communicator.
Strategist.

Writer.

Photo Credit Anna Carson DeWitt

 

Kristin got an early start in communications, producing her first newspaper in elementary school and later writing for the Eleanor Roosevelt H.S. paper in Greenbelt, MD. After graduating from Wake Forest University, she took her English degree to Edinburgh, Scotland and had a grand adventure as a bartender and solo traveler.

Told it was time to get serious, Kristin earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. She followed that with a very serious job: committee staffer to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee of the Maryland General Assembly. Next stop was Montgomery College, where she worked in the President’s Office on government relations and strategic communications. Kristin’s work contributed to substantial budget increases and a major campus expansion. She penned everything from testimony to inaugural addresses to “State of the College” remarks.

As a freelance writer and consultant, Kristin wrote this popular New York Times story on the value of community colleges. The emails and comments from students across the country were a potent reminder that all people want to be seen, heard, and valued. Dr. Jill Biden called the piece “a must read.”

Kristin was Vice President for Communications and Marketing at an economic development organization, where she shaped a campaign on the thriving life sciences companies choosing to call Montgomery County, MD home. She led communications and marketing for multiple pandemic grants, with over $22 Million awarded to thousands of restaurants, small firms and nonprofits. It was a time characterized by recovery, resiliency and results, and Kristin was proud to have had the opportunity to support the community and work with her great marketing team.

Find her writing in Your Teen for Parents Magazine, The New York Times,The Washington Post, The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, McSweeney’s, Barrelhouse, Grown and Flown, Scary Mommy and more.

Connect with Kristin on social media or email — she’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible!