Kristine LaLonde

Kristine LaLonde’s career reflects a commitment to supporting individuals, organizations, and communities as they work to learn and thrive. Her experience includes serving as the Director of Shared Strategy for the Metropolitan Housing and Development Agency, Nashville’s public housing authority, and as Co-Chief Innovation Officer of Nashville and Davidson County. LaLonde served as an elected member of Nashville’s Metropolitan Council, the legislative body for the city and surrounding county, representing a rapidly changing urban neighborhood.  

She holds a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Virginia, where she served as the student member of the university’s governing board. She earned a BA in history from the University of Michigan.  

In higher education, she served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Community Engagement at Vanderbilt University and as the Associate Dean for Lipscomb University’s College of Leadership and Public Service, where she launched and directed the master’s degree program in Leadership and Public Service and the undergraduate program in Urban Studies. She directed a program in leadership studies in the Honors Program at Belmont University, where she was a tenured Associate Professor. After graduating from UVA, her first teaching position was as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the History Department of Howard University.

LaLonde currently works as a facilitator and consultant, partnering with nonprofit and governmental organizations to improve organizational structures and cultures, particularly during times of transition.