In her role as Director of Programs, Kyla Carlsen provides proactive leadership and vision for developing new and innovative programs for nonprofit and social enterprise organizations. With each program, she focuses on emphasizing strategic partnerships, measurable outcomes, and highlighting local and national best practices in a safe, inclusive space.

Kyla is Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified and has experience leading and managing teams, program strategy and development, and project management. Her expertise includes facilitating design thinking sessions to develop innovative approaches to solve problems, fundraising and working with stakeholders to scale impact. She previously served as Operations and Financial Manager for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, overseeing operations for small business programs with a combined annual budget of $8 million and addressing barriers to access and capital readiness for Detroit entrepreneurs.

Outside of serving as Co.act’s Director of Programs, Kyla can be found coaching one of the Detroit PAL youth soccer teams as well as serving on an executive committee for Alternatives for Girls and leading the Detroit Global Shapers hub. She also enjoys traveling, cooking and exploring new restaurants in addition to spending time with her 10-year-old pitbull.