Having the Right Partner

Kirsten von Reinholtz builds systems that make mission work at scale. She combines Harvard training with on-the-ground public-service leadership to close the gap between intention and delivery. That’s the difference between busy and effective: service principles turned into operational results.

Harvard context and awards
Kirsten completed the A.L.M. at Harvard in 2025, where she focused her work on service, community engagement, and practical governance. At Harvard she was elected Director of Community & Public Service for the Harvard Extension Student Association, coordinating initiatives that connected volunteers, campus groups, and external partners. Her service earned the Derek Bok Public Service Prize, an Extension School honor recognizing significant, tangible public-service impact. Harvard’s prize lists and coverage confirm both HESA leadership and the award. Wikipedia+4The Harvard Crimson+4Facebook+4

What that means operationally

1. Stakeholder mapping into process
   Most programs fail where stakeholders meet the workflow. Kirsten’s approach starts with service mapping: who is affected, what “good” looks like to them, and where process friction lives. Then she codifies this into standard operating procedures and reporting so the map survives contact with reality.

2. Measurable public-service inputs and outputs
   Winning a public-service prize is nice; turning it into a dashboard is better. Her projects set explicit input and outcome measures: participation rates, completion time, exception counts, and post-program outcomes. That forces clarity and allows leadership to redirect resources early instead of after failure shows up in headlines. Wikipedia

3. Communications that move people, not just information
   As HESA’s community and public-service lead, Kirsten learned to recruit, brief, and retain volunteers who are busy and remote. The mechanics—cadenced updates, single-source tasking, and clear escalation—translate directly to operations at any scale. The Harvard Crimson

4. Governance without ceremony
   Kirsten’s Harvard experience rewarded delivery, not theater. Her rule set is simple: document the process, time-box decisions, publish owner and deadline, and close the loop publicly. That reduces cycle time and makes accountability visible.

Selected projects and appearances
• Harvard community service programming and office-hours series, promoted through HESA channels and campus social to drive consistent, staffed engagement. Facebook+2Instagram+2
• Public conversations and media about mission-driven work, including a long-form interview segment discussing brand, operations, and execution. iHeart

Why she fits my work
My operating thesis is straightforward: build disciplined systems that serve people first and hold up under pressure. Kirsten’s background matches that. She brings Harvard rigor, public-service credibility, and the willingness to do unglamorous blocking and tackling—exactly what turns policy into outcomes.

How we use this in practice
• Intake to outcome: define the participant journey, set time-based checkpoints, and require a visible owner at each gate.
• Field-tested SOPs: short, executable steps; tool links where work happens; and change logs with dates and owners.
• Exception management: pre-approved playbooks for the 10 percent of cases that break the rules, with authority and limits spelled out ahead of time.
• Reporting that leaders actually read: one page, four numbers, trend arrows, and what changes next week.

Credentials and confirmations
• Harvard Extension Student Association: elected Director of Community & Public Service for 2024–25, covered by The Harvard Crimson and HESA social posts. The Harvard Crimson+2Facebook+2
• Derek Bok Public Service Prize: listed among 2025 recipients; Wikipedia entry reflects the same. prizes.fas.harvard.edu+1
• Harvard Club of Southern California membership notice lists “Kirsten Brownrigg ALM ’25.” hcsc.clubs.harvard.edu

Kirsten’s value is simple: she makes service operational. The result is less noise, more execution, and measurable outcomes you can defend in a boardroom and explain to the community without spin.