Headshot of Katie Twyman-Metzger
Associate Consultant
KatieTM@theimprovegroup.com
Katie Twyman-Metzger (she/her) brings experience in qualitative and quantitative data analysis and a specialty in engaging communities with lived experience. Katie was a core team member working to thematically code and analyze grantee reports for our work with the Minnesota Department of Health’s Regional Health Equity Network grant. Katie also facilitated community member focus groups on early childhood screening for Minnesota’s Department of Children Youth and Families. Prior to IG, Katie co-founded the nonprofit Uplift – Online Communities Against Sexual Violence, where she developed and directed programming related to combatting sexual violence in online communities. In her work at Uplift, Katie conducted focus groups to develop strategic plans for the organization. Katie has deep experience in acting as the bridge between community members and organizations who serve them, including through her training in Community Health Promotion for her Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota, where she engaged community members to inform the direction of public health services they would receive.

Expertise

Evaluation

Katie sees evaluation as a means of empowering communities to create the tools and resources necessary to meet their self-determined goals. She enjoys using her background in program coordination to develop evaluation questions that are meaningful to client organizations and the community members they serve. Katie especially finds joy in facilitating workshops.

Mental Health

Katie views individual mental health as a central driver of community success and wellness. In many of her roles, she has focused on how mental health intersects with an individual’s community involvement and access to resources. This work informs Katie’s equity lens as an evaluator. Katie is currently a member of Minnesota’s State Advisory Council on Mental Health, informing mental health policy and action within the state.   

Youth Work

Working with youth has been a constant throughout Katie’s career. She is skilled in helping young people articulate their needs and desires related to program considerations. She especially takes pride in her ability to create supportive environments for youth to discuss challenging topics like mental health and sexual health.

Professional Experience

The Improve Group | St. Paul, MN | Associate Consultant | 2025-present | Works collaboratively with project teams to gather and make meaning of information, navigate complexity, and ensure clients’ investments of time and money lead to meaningful, sustained impact.

Friends for a Nonviolent World | St. Paul, MN | AVP-MN Program Coordinator | 2023-2024 | Adapted and implemented a conflict transformation program, the Alternatives to Violence Project, for youth ages 10-30 in Hennepin County, MN.

Minneapolis Health Department | Minneapolis, MN | Program Development Intern | 2022-2023 | Conducted and analyzed a survey assessing high school students’ attitudes and experiences related to consent and harassment in digital environments.

Face to Face | St. Paul, MN| Research Consultant | 2021 | Conducted a literature review related to all organizational programming to inform grant writing efforts.

Minneapolis Public Schools | Minneapolis, MN | AVID Tutor | 2020-2021 | Facilitated small-group tutoring sessions for middle and high school students using a Socratic method, assisting them across all academic areas.

University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development | Minneapolis, MN | Research Assistant | 2019-2020 | Conducted a literature review to disseminate modes of support and interventions for young children with autism.

Learn to Live | Minneapolis, MN | Research Intern | 2018 | Evaluated the relationships between risk of academic attrition satisfaction with a digital cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) program module.

Uplift – Online Communities Against Sexual Violence | Richfield, MN | Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director | Developed and directed programming related to combatting sexual violence in online communities through advocacy and education.

Education

University of Minnesota | Master of Public Health in Community Health Promotion, with graduate minors in Health Equity and Sexual Health

St. Catherine University | Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with an emphasis in Mental Health and Child Development

 

Want to learn more about Katie? Check out their full resume here!