What sets humbleCuriosity apart.
One Size Doesn’t Fit Everyone
We design individualized approaches that reflect that all groups of people —organizations, collaborative efforts, classrooms — have diverse individual perspectives and unique group dynamics. We avoid cookie cutter approaches so that we can avoid cookie cutter results.
The Wisdom is in the Room
We believe that the wisdom is always in the room—the organization, the collaborative effort, the team—we just need processes that surface and capture it. We build strong, trusting partnerships with entire organizations — working alongside you, not just advising from the outside.
Lasting Impact Requires Going Beneath the Surface
Creating lasting impact means going deeper — beyond surface-level symptoms and quick fixes — to uncover root causes and new paths for growth. The insight we need often lies beneath what’s most visible. I create space for honest conversations about the dynamics, beliefs, and fears that hold us back, so we can move through them and build transformative solutions together.
The Name is the Philosophy
The name humbleCuriosity grew from a realization that the best processes depend on asking open questions and really listening to how people respond. A stance of humble curiosity empowers us to learn what is happening in an organization or community by going beyond easy answers to surface different perspectives and allow people to say the hard things. Our rapidly changing world demands that we get curious and stay curious. humbleCuriosity’s approach guides that curiosity toward clarity and impact.
The humbleCuriosity icon shows a person embracing a question mark — a visual reminder of a core belief: that transformation begins not with easy answers, but with brave, honest questions. It reflects a commitment to sitting with complexity, inviting reflection, and navigating uncertainty with openness and care.
Meet Kristine
Kristine LaLonde
Principal Consultant
Kristine LaLonde’s work begins with questions: the practical, the profound, the ones that help
people make meaning and take action together. As the founder of humbleCuriosity, she
partners with purpose-driven organizations, communities, and leaders to help them not just
find answers, but ask better questions. She believes real change begins when people feel safe
enough to speak honestly and curious enough to imagine new possibilities.
A seasoned facilitator and trusted thought partner, Kristine helps others find clarity and take
meaningful action in complex times. She creates space for reflection, dialogue, and
collaboration—whether through long-term partnerships, strategic planning, immersive retreats,
or reimagining policy and programs.
Kristine’s path encompasses public service, education, and civic innovation. She served as Co-
Chief Innovation Officer for Nashville and Davidson County, and as Director of Shared Strategy
for the city’s public housing authority. As an elected member of the Metropolitan Council, she
represented a dynamic urban district.
A passionate educator, she launched and led programs in leadership, public service, and urban
studies at Belmont University and Lipscomb University, has taught history at Howard University
and Mount St. Mary’s. She currently teaches “Responsible Advocacy in a Complicated World” at
Vanderbilt University, where she helps students connect their deep values to purposeful action.
Beyond the classroom, Kristine continues to build community and shape policy from the block
up. She serves as president of Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors and sits on the boards of the West
End Home Foundation and the Nashville Rotary Club. She is a regular presence in civic life and
grassroots campaigns, ready to help where she’s needed, from stacking chairs after a
neighborhood meeting to shaping strategy for a citywide initiative.
She holds a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in history from
the University of Michigan.
Previous projects include:
Designed and launched a multi-session convening of 40 nonprofit CEOs to address
program and funding uncertainty
Facilitated a 6-month long board governance program for nonprofit CEOs
Co-created individual Impact Plans to guide the work of 30 employees of an
organization building community and fighting food insecurity
Facilitated the creation of new organizational structures, guiding values, and policies
during a CEO transition of a major community-based organization
Designed and facilitated Ideas to Reality, an innovation incubator and professional
development program for Metro Nashville and Davidson County employees that led to
new policy initiatives including hubNashville, Metro’s Portal for Non-Emergency Services
and Information
Led the research team for the Nashville Public Education Foundation Literacy
Collaborative Blueprint for Early Childhood Success, a community-wide initiative to
improve child literacy