Team Promotions: Andel Koester, Ian Straughter, and Yuri Chang

Karp Strategies is thrilled to announce Andel Koester and Ian Straughter as our newest Principals and Yuri Chang as Senior Associate.

Following another exciting year of growth for the firm, on December 4, 2022, Andel, Ian, and Yuri began new positions at Karp Strategies.

In their new roles as Principals, Andel and Ian will lead projects and help drive the firm’s growth. Andel will leverage her experience in sustainable development and clean energy to advance the firm’s work in resilience and renewables, leading projects with developers and agencies in the growing offshore wind industry. Ian will drive Karp Strategies’ work in economic, community, and workforce development, bringing his private, non-profit, and public sector experience to advance the firm’s community-based work in New York City and beyond.

“2022 has been a banner year for Karp Strategies, due in no small part to the dedication of Andel Koester and Ian Straughter,” shared Rebecca Karp, Managing Principal, and CEO. “Andel and Ian were at the head of our most successful efforts as a firm, including expanding our offshore wind and economic development work in New York City and around the region. Their well-deserved promotions position the firm to excel as renewed attention to equitable economic participation locally and increased focus on the offshore wind from a regional and federal perspective provide major growth opportunities across industries.”

Ian Straughter joined the Karp Strategies team in November 2021. He leverages over a decade of experience in workforce development, project management, and partnership creation toward building stronger communities and increasing access to thriving economies. In 2018, City & State recognized Ian for his work in the New York City 40 Under 40.

“As New York City and the region come out from under the hold of the COVID crisis and we head into another potential recession, it is more important than ever to ensure that development across the region is economically equitable and takes into account real needs and skill sets on the ground,” shared Ian. “This is our crucial challenge to navigate in the coming years, and as a Principal at Karp Strategies, I look forward to helping our clients find innovative ways to achieve that.”

Andel Koester joined Karp Strategies in July 2021. She is a public policy and program leader with over 15 years of experience collaborating across non-profits, local government, and business sectors. As part of the Karp Strategies team, Andel has spearheaded one of our fastest-growing practice areas—offshore wind. She has helped developers and agencies successfully navigate a new industry in the United States and guided stakeholder engagement and economic development analysis to ensure that the growth of offshore wind in the Northeast and across the nation delivers benefits directly to communities.

“One of the great benefits—and challenges—of the offshore wind industry is that it’s completely new to the United States. We have an opportunity in the coming years to build an incredibly powerful economic engine from the ground up to support our energy independence and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. We cannot do that without smart data, without powerful economic analysis and, perhaps most importantly, the real leadership of communities on the ground,” Andel noted. She added, “I am deeply excited for this new role as we work to strengthen our relationship with leaders in the sustainability and offshore wind industries in this pivotal time for our environment and for the nation.”

Longtime Karp Strategies team member Yuri Chang will also be stepping into a leadership role as the firm’s newest Senior Associate. Yuri started at Karp Strategies as a Graduate Analyst in early 2019 when the firm was still a 10-person team. Upon finishing graduate school, she joined Karp Strategies as a full-time Analyst. Because of her excellent work on projects, Yuri quickly moved up to the Associate role. She will now transition into her new position as a Senior Associate. In this position, Yuri will manage resilience and renewable energy, transportation, and economic development projects. Her latest role will see her taking on greater responsibility over her project work and allow her to support the ongoing growth and development of our cohort of Analysts and Associates.

As the Karp Strategies team continues to grow its team and portfolio in 2023, we are thrilled to have such dedicated, capable, and knowledgeable individuals contributing to and leading our firm.

Congratulations, Andel, Ian, and Yuri!