Kristi Eck

Kristi Eck is the Assistant Vice President for Workforce Innovation and External Relations responsible for leading SUNY Oswego's  Office of Workforce Innovation and External Relations (OWIER) . As a member of the President’s Cabinet and President’s Council, Kristi works closely with SUNY Oswego’s vice presidents, deans, and relevant directors to advance the university’s engagement with external partners to attract and secure new resources for the institution and the region. In addition, Kristi leads SUNY Oswego’s state and federal legislative outreach efforts, serves as the PI and Project Director on the  SUNY Oswego Instructor Bootcamp and as the interim Project Director for the Retired Senior and Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Oswego County , and oversees the station manager for  WRVO Public Media ,  a non-profit, non-commercial, multi-platform news and information service, licensed to the  State University of New York . 

Kristi started her career at SUNY Oswego as Chief of Staff in August 2013 with leadership and service highlighted by the creation of SUNY Oswego’s institutional-wide strategic plan annual reporting and continuous improvement systems; representing the institution as the state and federal government relations liaison and lobbyist; and, as the institution’s Middle States Commission on Higher Education Accreditation Liaison Officer (2016-2022) during which Kristi skillfully led the institution through its successful Periodic Review (2017) and Self-Study (2022) reports as Co-Chair for both. 

Kristi earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Colby College and her master’s degree in Higher & Postsecondary Education with a concentration in Organizational & Institutional Analysis from Columbia University, Teachers College. Kristi completed the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education and was a 2013 graduate of Leadership Greater Syracuse and recognized as a  40 under Forty Central New York award winner in 2012. 

In spring 2023, Kristi was named by Governor Kathy Hochul and Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra as one of 15 community stakeholders to serve on the  Central New York Community Engagement Committee . Kristi also currently serves on the  Oswego County Workforce Development Board , the  Oswego County Tourism Advisory Council , the Oswego County Transportation Advisory Committee, the Micron Future-Ready Workforce Innovation Consortium, as a founding member of the  Oswego County Micron Strategy Steering Committee , the  WCNY Community Advisory Board , and the  City of Oswego’s Campus-City Relations Committee and the  Promotion, Tourism & Advisory Board.

Kristi, and her wife Liz, an alumna of SUNY Oswego, are proud parents of two young and delightful children and one extremely sweet Newfoundland.