Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Kjersti Duval brings 25 years of experience to implementing meaningful projects. Kjersti’s career has spanned the U.S., Europe, and Asia and her work has moved seamlessly between policy, urban design, planning, and real estate. She is skilled in executive leadership, real estate strategy, project management, nonprofit management, urban design, parks & infrastructure, planning, and government relations (including experience working with Tribes). In her role as founder of Studio Civic within Duval Companies, Kjersti advises leaders and change makers on planning and constructing consequential environments with a public interest at stake. She has a decade+ of direct experience shaping and passing federal, state, and municipal legislation, including securing and managing millions of dollars in state grants and appropriations. Kjersti served in municipal government as Minneapolis Planning Director during the planning and implementation of US Bank Stadium, and she oversaw the development of Downtown Commons Park. During her tenure, she supercharged the planning department’s data subscriptions and data visualization capabilities, created new job classifications for urban design, and led reforms to the City’s Capital Improvement Plan to elevate economic development and livability considerations in scoring criteria. She is an affiliate researcher at the Minnesota Design Center, and teaches urban design at the University of MN. She serves as a resource professional for the Mayors Institute on City Design, the nonprofit partner of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Kjersti has participated in civic life through board and committee service with the Fulbright Association, Minneapolis Downtown Council, the Center for Transportation Studies (UMN), Super Bowl LII (Technology Subcommittee), Meet Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis Park Board. Kjersti is married with two children and lives in Orono, MN on Navarre Island, Lake Minnetonka.
Kjersti is co-owner and CEO at Duval Companies, specializing in policy, engagement, innovation, technology, and real estate development centered on placemaking. Kjersti founded Studio Civic with Duval as a practice that focuses exclusively on the unique challenges and opportunities that come with projects that have a public interest at stake.
Public interest urban design and development consulting.
Research & development of place-based technologies.
Active in Empowering Small Minnesota Communities Program (Two Harbors Waterfront). In parallel, conducting statewide research to inform Greater Minnesota planning. The Minnesota Design Center (MDC) addresses urban issues in the Twin Cities region and statewide, helping communities realize opportunities in their built and natural environment that stimulate economic prosperity, encourage social vitality, and enhance human and environmental health. As an affiliate, Kjersti works with Director Tom Fisher and other affiliates to identify and shape projects and contribute leading edge research on urban challenges.
Studio (Urban Design)
Kjersti's role is to facilitate the acquisition, planning and reuse of property subject to disposition by the federal government. She works directly with the board, Dakota Tribes & organizations, government, coalition organizations, and community members to manage the initiative, its partnerships, and its consultants. Kjersti’s role requires her to build and maintain strategic relationships, successfully pass legislation and funding commitments at the municipal, state, and federal level, earn and maintain trust, engage the broader community, and implement the acquisition and redevelopment of land at the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock. Owámniyomni Okhódayapi is a public nonprofit founded in 2016. It’s mission is to engage all people to build understanding and embrace the value of Indigenous perspectives tied to Owamniyomni, a significant site on the Mississippi River. OO is working with a broad based coalition, as well as local, state, and federal government, to acquire this federal property for a public purpose, and to create transformative change on the Central Riverfront in downtown Minneapolis.