Meet Kristin

After growing up in Sageville and Southern Dubuque County until 2000, Kristin and her husband Kevin, a native of Asbury, moved back to Dubuque in 2009 to raise their family. Kristin and Kevin have two school-age children, Charlotte and Beckett, in the Dubuque Community School District.

Kristin graduated from University of St. Thomas in 2004, earned a master’s degree from University of Iowa in 2006, and a Certificate of Analytics from Loras College in 2014. 

Since moving back to Dubuque, Kristin has been involved in various education, leadership, and economic development roles serving the needs of Dubuque County and the Greater Dubuque region.

From 2009 to 2016, Kristin worked in Peosta at Northeast Iowa Community College as the first Director of Grants and Contracts and first Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness.  In these roles, Kristin successfully assisted the college in raising federal, state, and private funds to launch in-demand workforce training programs, oversaw legislative affairs for the college, and managed the marketing and communications staff.

From 2016-2020 Kristin led Greater Dubuque Development Corporation’s Office of Workforce Solutions, where she oversaw a comprehensive community workforce recruitment, retention, and education and training program. This included developing public-private partnerships to advance the needs of both business and local employees.

Since 2021, Kristin has been leading her family’s small business, Painted Sky Designs, alongside her brother. Co-founded by Kristin’s parents, they have operated in Dubuque County as a wholesale and retail outdoor furniture company since 2003. 

Kristin also currently co-facilitates Greater Dubuque Development’s Distinctively Dubuque newcomer program and offers tours to newcomers considering making Dubuque their home through this workforce initiative.

She serves on the board of Dubuque Initiatives, Dubuque Museum of Art, and the Dubuque Senior Educational Foundation. 

Kristin and her family love spending their free time in Dubuque County, hiking the state and county parks, supporting as many arts events as possible, catching live music, and frequenting local restaurants, breweries, and supper clubs!