,

Meet the Candidates for Board of Directors: Kristen Pratt

,
Kristen Pratt

Kristen Pratt is a born and raised Chicagoan, originally hailing from 68th and Pulaski.  She has lived in Hermosa since 2012. 

As an active member of the Hermosa Neighborhood Association, she has:

  • Led a compost bin, rain barrel, and native plant workshop at which $750+ of resources were distributed to local residents. 

  • Introduced HNA to a local environmental non-profit, Openlands, and secured our first TreePlanters Grant.  As a result of this grant, Kristen hosted a workday from her home during which 30+ trees were planted by 60+ volunteers from the neighborhood. 

  • Served as a community representative for the first round of participatory budgeting in the 31st ward.

  • Helped secure presenters and tools to guide outreach and education around Hermosa's first Divvy stop. 

In Kristen’s professional life, she has run the Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) for the past eight years.  This program trains and supports Chicago residents who are interested in leading sustainability service projects in their neighborhoods.  Since 2008, Kristen has trained and supported 653 volunteers representing every ward City-wide as they lead projects to improve quality of life in their neighborhoods while also protecting the environment.  Her role as the manager of this program is to:

  • Organize workshops to train volunteers.

  • Connect volunteers to partners in local non-profits and government agencies.  Kristen has developed relationships with more than 3 dozen community-focused organizations in Chicago who are looking to share their resources and expertise across the city and is well-respected in this field.

  • Train volunteers in community engagement best practices.  She uses a model based upon asset-based community development; this means that projects and initiatives build on the best things a community has to offer in order find solutions to the problems that they face.  This model prevents people from imposing their values on others while also encouraging broad participation across the community.

  • Develop new initiatives.  For example, between 2009 and 2013, Kristen led a weatherization program that led to 26,000 homes in Chicago installing free energy-saving tools like plastic window film and weatherstripping.  She has also helped volunteers distribute more than 1000 compost bins and 4000 rain barrels.

Kristen has a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a master’s degree in Urban Environmental Leadership.

As a board member for the Hermosa Neighborhood Association, Kristen would hope to:

  • Apply her skills from her professional life; after many years of helping improve communities across Chicago, she is eager to assist in organizing her own neighborhood.  She can use her connections with partner organizations to get more resources for Hermosa for the projects we are most excited to get underway.

  • Continue to support and grow existing social activities to help neighbors get to know one another and build a greater sense of community in Hermosa.

  • Involve more residents from her part of Hermosa, north of Fullerton, in the organization’s efforts.

You can learn more about Kristen’s volunteer and professional efforts here: