Eastern Bloc to Community Block: Kristen Packard '92

Release date: April 23, 2008 |

She once had dreams of working as a Cold War spy, but Kristen Packard has found challenge and adventure in the warm Florida sunshine.

Kristen enrolled as a political science major, but after the Eastern Bloc fell during her sophomore year, she shifted her focus to public policy and local governmental issues. Whether she was in the classroom or the hallways of Alcock, with her swimming teammates, Kristen says the Goucher environment taught her lessons for life. "You learned the fundamentals that translate on some level to what the working world is all about," she says. "That experience taught me to communicate well and learn to cope with others."

After graduating from Goucher, Kristen and her husband, Donald, moved to Jacksonville, FL, where she accepted an administrative position with Vestcor, a small firm that develops and manages affordable rental housing. For the next seven years, she was directly responsible for the production of over 2,500 rental units in Florida and Texas. She became involved at the state level, working with policy makers and serving two terms as chair of the Florida Affordable Housing Study Commission.

Packard left Vestco to start a family, but soon realized that stay-at-home life didn’t suit her. In 2001 she founded Packard Consulting, which provides real estate development and financial advisory services to commercial and nonprofit developers of affordable rental housing, public-housing authorities, and other municipal entities. This year, her projects include two small rental communities that will target formerly homeless individuals.

"What I find most rewarding about my current work is the ability to create a better living environment for people who are in desperate need," she says. "Knowing that I have been blessed with a gift of being able to create something for others is the best honor and accomplishment I could ever hope to be awarded." Her biggest adventure, however, is still a work in progress: "Being responsible for my daughter’s personal growth and maturity, teaching her responsibility and entrusting her with some of the values I learned at Goucher."