As the Director of Finance & Operations for La Piana Consulting, Kristen has helped spearhead growth and development of the firm since 2001, building La Piana into one of the top nonprofit consulting firms in the country.Kristen has strong project management, financial, and analytic skills; and has consulted in organizational assessment, strategic planning, strategic restructuring, and market & survey research. She co-authored "The Due Diligence Tool: for use in pre-grant assessment" (2004) and "Tool for Assessing Startup Organizations: a due diligence supplement for grantmakers" (2003), both published by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.Kristen was also project manager for La Piana's Strategic Solutions Project, a foundation-funded initiative aimed at increasing the sector’s awareness of the value of strategic restructuring (mergers and other forms of partnership). She conducted research and wrote case studies on various forms of partnership; developed and presented trainings; and co-authored "The Nonprofit Mergers Workbook, Part II: Unifying the Organization after a Merger" (2004).