Krystal is a fractional CMO and operations strategist who works in the gray space between marketing, product, and operations.

Before starting Hickory Grove, she spent nearly 20 years across healthcare, marketing, product development, and digital consulting:

In healthcare, she saw how small breakdowns in systems and communication can have real consequences for real people. She later moved into marketing and digital strategy, where she learned to pair empathy with data, not choose between them.

She’s worked in both mid-sized agencies and larger web-focused firms, leading cross-functional teams on complex web builds, SEO and analytics programs, and digital transformations for well-known brands.