Kristi Balzer

Kristi Balzer
She/Her

Youth Music Project’s Development Director, Kristi Balzer, has over 15 years of experience in non-profits and public affairs; as a volunteer, Board Member, elected official, campaign manager, lobbyist, and Executive Director, and can honestly say that her favorite part of each role has been the relationships built along the way. She believes there is nothing more valuable in any industry than the bridges you build between people.

Joining Youth Music Project in the Winter of 2021, Kristi brings decades of experience in fundraising and relationship building to our development team. Kristi holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from San Diego State University, focused on political sociology and applied social research, spent 10 years working in politics as a campaign manager, lobbyist, and elected official, She first entered non-profit work in 2010 as the Executive Director of the Point San Luis Lighthouse, a historic light station on the Central Coast of CA, where she developed a year-round tour and events program which brings over 10,000 people annually to the historic site. And then with Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, where she created a plan for sustainable growth that took camp from instability and debt to operating in the black 5 years running, strengthened relationships with community and funders and laid the groundwork for year-round a revenue-generating programming.

In addition to her passion for her work she has been known to run half marathons and triathlons, coordinate weddings, sing karaoke, figure model, herd cattle, snorkel in Bali, and hunt for waterfalls with her girlfriend and two kiddos, Aven and Fox.