Christopher J. Watkins, MA, MBA Management & Finance Specialist
james.watkins@wku.edu

Christopher Watkins, Finance and Management Specialist, has consulted extensively with local programs and has developed and presented hundreds of management and financial workshops throughout the country. Chris' areas of specialty include turn-around strategies, program governance, strategic and short-term planning, and preparing for Federal reviews. Prior to joining T/TAS, Chris worked as a policy researcher at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC and as an information analyst at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He has extensive graduate and post-graduate course work in management, organizational design, and public administration. He has a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University, an M.A. in Economics from American University, and an M.B.A. from the Gordon Ford College of Business and a B.A. in Government from Western Kentucky University.

Chris’ currently focuses: (1) Providing training to support programs' preparation for the OHS monitoring reviews; (2) Writing community assessments that meet the issues of local programs while fulfilling the requirements of Head Start regulations; (3) Supplying financial technical assistance to local programs and their agency fiscal staff; and (4) Providing technical assistance on the many facets of Home-Based Operations.

In addition to Head Start programs and their parent organizations, Chris has provided leadership and training/consultation to such diverse organizations as Crime Stoppers, the American Red Cross, the WKU-Warren County Symphony, and Lourdes Hospital Auxiliary. Chris is currently a member of the American Society for Public Administration, Urban Affairs Association and is a long time member of the Order of Kentucky Colonels.