Coastal Alabama Partnership’s Wiley Blankenship announces the hiring of Kristen O’Keefe as Regional Initiatives Coordinator for the non-profit organization, which promotes unified regional strategic efforts for Mobile and Baldwin counties.
O’Keefe, a graduate of Florida State University, works with Blankenship to organize and facilitate initiatives that affect the two coastal counties as a whole. Coastal Alabama Partnership (CAP) is currently in the process of selecting a consulting team to create a regional strategic plan that will serve as a roadmap for government, business and community leaders in making informed decisions about issues affecting the region.
“Kristen is a welcome addition to our organization,” says Blankenship, president and CEO of CAP. “She brings experience and an unique perspective from working with other non-profits and organizations with similar missions and goals. She also has a strong research background that will be utilized as we develop strategic plans for our core initiatives.”
O’Keefe graduated summa cum laude from Florida State with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Her professional experience includes serving as coastal community development specialist at Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center and as project coordinator for The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. In addition, she completed internships at the University of South Alabama Wesley Foundation and the Florida State University Political Science Department.
“I am excited to be a part of this team,” O’Keefe says. “One of my strongest skills is the ability to build and nurture relationships among people, businesses and organizations, which I believe will be of great benefit in this position. ”
Originally from Orlando, O’Keefe moved to Mobile in 2011 with her husband, Daniel O’Keefe, who attended graduate school at the University of South Alabama. He is now employed as a process engineer at Evonik.
