About

Built for complexity.
Driven by partnership.

EDvanced Consulting was founded on a conviction: that the most meaningful problems—the ones that keep leadership teams up at night—don't yield to generic playbooks or surface-level workshops. They require structured thinking, cross-sector perspective, and the discipline to stay in the work until the system holds.

We are partners for growth—not because we deliver growth as a product, but because we walk alongside our clients through the hard, structural work that makes sustainable growth possible.

Overhead view of rowing team on deep blue water

Who We Are

We are a boutique consulting firm rooted in the Southeast and working nationally. Our team brings senior-level expertise across organizational strategy, operational systems design, workforce development, and leadership capacity building.

We partner with government agencies, healthcare organizations, public safety institutions, private companies, and mission-driven organizations navigating meaningful change.

Our approach is human-centered, science-backed, and outcome-driven. We translate research in neuroscience, adaptive leadership, and organizational behavior into practical systems that leaders and teams can sustain.

"Human-centered. Science-backed. Outcome-driven."

From the ground up.

EDvanced was built in the field, not in a boardroom. Our roots are in communities where complexity is not theoretical — it is the daily operating environment. We learned early that effective consulting is not about delivering recommendations from a distance. It is about entering the work alongside the people who carry it, understanding the real constraints they face, and building solutions that hold up under pressure.

That philosophy has shaped everything about how we operate: a lean, senior-led team that delivers principal-level attention on every engagement. No layers of junior analysts. No recycled frameworks. Every project is built from the ground up, informed by the specific context of the client and the system they operate within.

“We collaborate with each organization to map goals, constraints, and context — then we build together.”

What We Believe

Structure creates freedom.

When roles are clear, systems are sound, and strategy is aligned, people can finally do their best work. We build that structure.

Implementation is the strategy.

Plans without execution are decoration. We stay in the work because the value is in the doing, not the recommending.

Partnership is the method.

We don't consult from a distance. We collaborate with each organization to map goals, constraints, and context — then we build together.

"Effective consulting is not about delivering recommendations from a distance. It is about entering the work alongside the people who carry it."

OUR TEAM

A senior-led team.
Principle-level attention.

Every engagement is led by our principals — the same people who design the strategy are the ones in the room doing the work. No handoffs. No layers. That's by design.

Kristina Yates

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Head of program design and delivery. Kristina brings deep expertise in K-12 education systems, workforce development, and organizational transformation. She leads EDvanced's signature programs and client partnerships with a focus on building sustainable, human-centered solutions.

Michael Van Tyne

Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder

Head of partnerships and operations. Michael drives EDvanced's strategic growth and partnership development, ensuring every engagement is operationally sound and built for long-term impact. He brings a systems-level perspective to organizational challenges.

Lauren Szymonik

Chief People & Strategy Officer

Lauren leads talent strategy and organizational design across engagements. Her expertise in people systems and strategic planning ensures EDvanced's work is grounded in both the science of human potential and the realities of implementation.