Krista Flannery
Krista Flannery is an Empowerment Coach with Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), where she supports adults in eastern Kentucky through workforce reentry, career coaching, and life skills development. Working within a regional economic development initiative, she helps individuals aged 25–54 identify and overcome barriers to employment while connecting them to training, education, housing, and job opportunities. Her role focuses on walking alongside clients as they define meaningful employment and build sustainable pathways toward it.
Krista brings more than 16 years of experience in social services, beginning her career in Child Protective Services with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. She later served as a social service coordinator and counselor at a federal halfway house, where she supported individuals transitioning out of incarceration by addressing challenges such as substance use recovery, mental health needs, and employment readiness. These roles gave her extensive experience in case management, crisis intervention, and systems navigation across vulnerable populations.
She holds a strong academic background in psychology and communication, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Walden University, graduating with high honors. Krista’s professional philosophy centers on empowerment, empathy, and meeting people where they are, acting as both a guide and advocate rather than a directive authority. She is passionate about helping individuals rediscover confidence, build stability, and achieve goals that reflect their personal definitions of success.
• Walden University- M.S.
• Walden University- B.S.
• KY Cabinet for Health and Family Services
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to resilience and learning to lean on the support I had, even when it was limited. When I was going through my own difficult period of having to start over while still working as a social worker helping others rebuild, there were definitely some hard moments - the car-on-the-way-home moments where I had to pull myself together before picking up my kid. I leaned a lot on friends to vent to, and I also turned to empowering material and people like Mel Robbins, whose books and podcasts helped me so much. They helped me think about where I had been and recognize that I did have worth, because I was at a point where I felt like I had no worth, no confidence, and no ability to do anything. I knew better in my head - I had a master's degree and was helping people every day - but I had to seek out outside material and outside people who were able to reinforce to me that I had worth. Learning that other people felt like I did was huge, especially reading about women CEOs making six figures who all struggled with imposter syndrome and said things like 'I didn't know what I was gonna do when I got into this position, I just figured it out.' That 'okay, I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm gonna figure it out' mindset was a huge help.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to, in any profession or any room, know your worth. Set boundaries, and know that even when you question yourself, even when you're looking at a position or looking at a company and you think there's no way I belong there, there's no way that I could get hired there, there's no way that I could do this job - take the first step, because you don't know if you don't try. The worst that anybody can do is say no, and that's not really that bad.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
A major challenge in the field is addressing the wide range of complex barriers people face when re-entering the workforce, especially in underserved communities with limited access to resources. At the same time, this creates meaningful opportunity to deliver individualized support and long-term solutions that help people achieve stability, confidence, and sustainable employment.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are knowing your worth, setting boundaries, and empowerment. I believe strongly in helping people recognize their own value and build their confidence, especially women who have been through difficult experiences. Whether it's someone coming out of a toxic relationship, having to start over, or coming out of prison, I want to help them rebuild their confidence and feel like they belong in the room. I've been through having to start over myself, and I know how hard it is to get that confidence back and feel like you belong in those rooms. My ultimate goal is to be able to help women feel like they belong in the room, because that sense of worth and belonging is so critical to moving forward in life.