Kristen Vails

Director of Place Management @Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership

Oklahoma City, OK, US

District Management – Increased community engagement through the launch of a District Management. Hired, trained and supervise 4 district managers who are responsible for board administration, district activation/events, community engagement, project management and advocacy. This includes engagement with over 120 board members across 6 entities-Public Art + Placemaking – Oversight of all public art programs for the Business Improvement District (BID) and the Downtown OKC Initiatives entities which included: the installation of a public sculpture, 25 micro-grants through a pandemic program, 3 bridge/underpass artistic lighting installations, 5 murals and the “Door Tour” featuring 21 artworks on alleyway doors. Improved artist contracts and waivers to better protect artists, organization and property owners. Changed grant application processes for efficiency and alignment with City permitting-Events + Activation – Introduced 4 new community events including a monthly block party series, and supported the execution of 10 annual events with refreshed programming and logistics. Advocated for the elimination or redistribution of budget for events that were not providing high value to the community-Project Management – Led the development of a new district including BID boundary expansion, creation of a board and the launch of a new brand-Contributed to the BID’s 10-year renewal process through petition outreach, collection and filing with the City. Oversight of all projects under District Management team. Examples include: studies, beautification, wayfinding, signage, security lighting, street enhancements and grant programs.Advocacy – Led advocacy efforts for downtown needs to the City of OKC and related service providers. Through advocacy efforts, successfully obtained new streetlights, reduced juvenile curfew, improved electric scooter restrictions, parking ordinance changes, and provided valuable feedback for sign/mural code update.

University of Oklahoma

BFA, Painting