Gretchen Kunkel, M.H.A., M.B.A.

Gretchen H. Kunkel has dedicated her career to improving the health and well-being of children, families, and communities. For 30 years, she has worked in children’s and women’s health, community design and development, early care and education, food systems, philanthropy, and public health.

At The Moran Company, Gretchen serves as a Senior Search Consultant, applying her extensive leadership and sector experience to support transformational change within nonprofit organizations through executive recruitment. She also leads GHK Consulting, where she helps nonprofit and philanthropic organizations deepen their impact by strengthening programs, shaping strategy, advancing policies, securing revenue, and improving operations.

From 2008 to 2018, Gretchen was president of KC Healthy Kids, a Kansas City nonprofit advancing children’s health by increasing opportunities for healthy eating and active living. She helped found the organization in 2004 and guided major initiatives, including the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition, a multi-system early care and education effort for children ages 0-3, farm-to-school programs, and youth advocacy programs for health. Her leadership contributed to significant policy and environmental improvements across the region. During her tenure, KC Healthy Kids became a leading voice for children’s health, receiving a Regional Leadership Award in 2016 for their outstanding contributions in the Kansas City region. In 2016 and 2017, KC Healthy Kids also received a Philly Award of Distinction for outstanding achievements in nonprofit marketing and communications.

Prior to her work at KC Healthy Kids, Gretchen served as Associate Executive Director of the Center for Community Solutions in Cleveland, Ohio. Her responsibilities included managing planning efforts related to domestic violence/elder abuse, directing the Title X Family Planning program, leading applied research projects, and overseeing agency administration and finances. Earlier, as Director of Community Health Services at the Center for Health Affairs, she led community health improvement efforts for the metropolitan hospital association.

Gretchen holds Master’s Degrees in both Health Administration and Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Kansas. She completed training in racial equity from the Racial Equity Institute and training in coalition-building from the Center for Creative Leadership.