Meet the Director

Kiersten Grove serves as the Acting Department Director of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) for the City of Seattle. Kiersten leads a 500-plus person team in providing customer-focused services that help the City run better, ranging from facility operations to the Seattle Animal Shelter to purchasing goods and services equitably.

Kiersten has worked for the City of Seattle for over a decade. As the Deputy Department Director for FAS, Kiersten supported over 100,000 community members in receiving COVID vaccines through the City’s vaccination clinic at Lumen Field. Kiersten also worked in the Office of the Mayor through two administrations as Senior Operations Manager and served as a transportation advisor for the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Before joining the City of Seattle, Kiersten worked at the City of Chicago’s Department of Transportation. Kiersten started her career through Teach for America as an elementary school teacher in Sunflower, Mississippi. She has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from University of Michigan and a BA in Middle Eastern Studies and Anthropology from New York University.

Kiersten loves public service because she believes local government leaders have a duty and obligation to advance equity through their policy and programmatic decisions. Kiersten believes the often-unseen areas of government have the greatest day-to-day impacts. She looks forward to partnering with City departments and the community to connect Seattle residents with key services.

When Kiersten is not on the job, you can find her picking up a handful of books she reserved through the Seattle Public Library or exploring Seattle’s attractions with her partner and her son.