Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Dove.
Hi Kristina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am the daughter of Eula Faye Frierson and Philip Alfred Dove. My father was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa and my mother hailed from Marshall, Texas. My upbringing was full of great experiences, thanks to my parents. One of the many values my mother taught me was service to others. For 25 years, my mother owned Faye’s Kitchen, a soul food restaurant in Oak Cliff. During my off-school hours and summers, I worked for her, busting tables, washing dishes and serving food. Food was always left over in the evenings and instead of trashing it, my mother would close up and we would drive around the neighborhood delivering plates to the elderly and those in need. She always told me that “God did not create us just for self, he created us to be servants and blessings to others.” This stuck with me throughout life and led me to pursue a career in which I could be of service to others.
So, in 2000 I ventured off to the University of Houston to initially pursue a degree in pharmacy, which I soon found out was not for me and changed my major to Health with an emphasis in Community Health. This led me to a position with Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, which I believe was pivotal in my community work journey. In this position, I led an after-school program for high school girls. The relationships I built and the influence these girls had on my life were too impactful for me to think about doing anything else. After that, my journey in the nonprofit sector began. In 2008, I returned back to Dallas and worked with Communities In Schools Dallas for three years. I eventually moved on and landed a position with Big Thought in 2011. It was there that I truly learned how to become a nonprofit leader. I believe leadership was always in my blood but working for this organization pushed me into my true purpose.
While at Big Thought, I went from frontline outreach services to executive leadership over the span of nine years. As Director of Learning Systems, my job was to manage systems and initiatives that served collectively more than 100,000 students, in addition to collaborating and partnering with more than 700 education, civic, higher education and corporate organizations. Serving in this capacity for nearly a decade sparked a fire in me to create a nonprofit consulting firm. Community Power Consulting is an idea that has lived inside of me for a while and after I heard a wonderful sermon about living in your purpose – finding your why and stepping out on faith – from my pastor, Bryan Carter, I knew it was time for me to move. So, on March 10th, 2020, I began my first day as an entrepreneur and the blessing of it all was that my last employer was my first client. Since then, I have partnered with organizations such as Commit, Dallas Innovation Alliance, Project Still I Rise, Seeds to STEM, other consulting firms like CoSpero and I am looking forward to more partnerships in 2021.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The scariest part about stepping out on my own was giving birth to my first child in February of 2019 because providing for him was my central focus. The thought of not having guaranteed income was a pain point for me. I had to trust and believe in myself, my talents and have faith that if God led me to this point, He wouldn’t leave me hanging and He did not. Another struggle along the way is just continuing to believe in me and that what I am doing is in alignment with my purpose. Every now and then, doubt can set in when you are working for yourself. You wonder if what you are doing is making a difference, if it will sustain and doubt sets in. The effort to fight this and move past it is an obstacle, but can be overcome with lots of positive self-talk and belief that you are in the right place doing the right thing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Community Power Consulting?
Community Power Consulting (CPC) is a form of consultation that builds capacity, brings structure and helps to manage specific projects, in addition to opening doors that bring a level of power and uplift to each community, neighborhood, organization and family served. We do this by putting our constituents first. Ensuring the goals of each client map to our mission of building strong, healthy and thriving communities. We thoughtfully implementplans and strategies that empower the people being served and createspace for inquiry, feedback and reflection throughout all of our work. At CPC, we value relationships. We believe that if you build relationships from an authentic and reciprocal place, they can be sustained and thrive for many years. Which, in my opinion, is the way that you get good community work done together.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Believe in yourself and your abilities. Don’t share your dreams and plans with everyone, find yourself a confidant, business partner or someone you can trust in business. Don’t be afraid to share your receipts. Learn how to perfect the story you tell yourself about yourself – meaning get really good at self-motivation speeches – because you will not always have someone in a cheering corner pushing you forward. Get good at pushing yourself. Time is your friend and success can happen overnight but it will take resiliency, perseverance and determination to sustain success, which will ultimately take time. I feel like I am still just starting out, my advice for anyone in my position is to get yourself a mentor, someone who can give you sound business advice and be a sounding board for you. Even if you feel like you know everything and got it all figured out, you don’t!
Contact Info:
- Email: 1kristinadove@gmail.com
- Website: www.kristinadove.com
- Instagram: @kdovecommunity
- Facebook: Kristina Dove, Community Power Consulting
Image Credits
Brishelle Brooks Brittney Dubose Stephanie Drenka
