Meet Kirsten
(she/her)
Sociologist and Professional Educator Specializing in Local Business Support
As a sociologist and professional educator with results-driven, research-based project management experience, I blend traditional social science research methods and contemporary UX techniques to help small businesses understand client pain points and improve the client experience.
Who I Am
I am a tenured sociology professor at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and have been teaching there for over 20 years. My main course load includes Introduction to Sociology, Gender in Society, Sociology of Food, Social Inequalities, and Relationships, Marriage & Family. I love teaching and have honed my skills in delivering course content to adult learners, but I missed the real-world benefits of applied sociological research, which is why I started KO Consulting.
Why I Do This Work
I truly believe that small businesses and mission-driven organizations are essential to strong, thriving communities. Ever since my graduate work on organizational change and survival, I have been interested in what helps organizations continue to prosper as cultures change. As someone whose background includes both academic training and significant work experience, I have the skills, knowledge, and temperament to help small business owners figure out what isn’t landing right and to provide a clear, manageable path forward.
I understand the importance of enabling small business owners to focus on what they do best - providing top-notch services and products to their clients. But we cannot do everything ourselves, especially if we want it done right. As a small business owner myself, I’ve worked with consultants before, and I understand how valuable it is to delegate complex or nebulous tasks to an expert who can deliver a high-quality product with greater efficiency.
Currently, I have the capacity and the joy of working on small, targeted projects, and I have seen firsthand the immense positive changes that can happen through collaboration. Large companies employ teams of researchers and inclusivity experts to ensure their products and services remain relevant in our changing technological and economic realities. However, that doesn’t mean that small businesses need to be left behind when it comes to updating websites and conducting research to improve the client experience.
I look forward to connecting with you about the business stressors that keep you up at night and providing you with a clear path forward to address those concerns.
Feel free to explore my Services to learn more, or Contact Me with any questions. I’d love to connect, learn about your goals, and see how we can build a clear path forward together.
Understand Why. Fix What Matters.
Subscribe to receive periodic emails designed to
help small organizations enhance the client experience