​As the founder and collaborative strategist of Urbane DrK Consulting, Brenda Kayzar, PhD, brings a hybrid of experience in finance, academia, and nonprofits to her practice, collaboratively navigating government institutions and nonprofits toward fair and sustainable outcomes. She employs a research-based approach in her evaluation and strategic planning work, centering equity in program, development, and planning practices while building avenues to equitable representation and opportunities for engagement.

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As a consultant she evaluates and creates programs, designs and facilitates outreach and engagement efforts, and leads strategic and cultural planning projects. Her work forms the foundation for professional plans and reports and her research on creative placemaking, revitalization and gentrification, and community and housing development is published in academic presses. 

UDrK facilitates strategic planning for clients like the City of Seattle, the City of Prior Lake, and the Hastings Prescot Arts Council. 

UDrK produces plans like Hastings is Arts for the Hasting Prescot Arts Council and the City of Hastings, and a cultural plan for Dayton’s Bluff in St. Paul. They collaborated on LISC’s Lake Street cultural corridor plan and the City of Minneapolis’ 2040 comprehensive plan.
 

UDrK produces economic studies, like the Minneapolis Creative Index report and Minnesota Citizens for the Arts Creative MN project. Brenda maintains a research and publication agenda, recently completing a project for the Minnesota Department of Transportation MnDOT Research, an article about Artist-in-Residence programs Transportation Research, and a study about creative placemaking in rail transit corridors APA Research.