Jim Kroening is Named New President of FamilyMeans

Jim Kroening is Named New President of FamilyMeans

May 15, 2020

Kroening selected to replace Arba-Della Beck who retires after 24 years.

FamilyMeans board of directors is pleased to announce that Jim Kroening is named the new President of FamilyMeans beginning May 18, 2020. Kroening will be replacing Arba-Della Beck who started in 1996 and announced her retirement in January. He will be the fifth president since the agency was founded in 1963. 

Kroening has been with FamilyMeans since 1992 and is currently the Director of Operations & Financial Solutions. He started his career in banking before transitioning to FamilyMeans and eventually overseeing agency operations including risk management, information technology, and facility management. Jim has been an active member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), serving recently on its council for member affairs, and he assisted the NFCC by testifying before the United States Senate in 2004. Under his leadership, the Financial Solutions program was recognized and honored for having the NFCC Client of the Year in 2009 and the NFCC Counselor of the Year in 2019.

“After a national search, we are proud that Jim Kroening has accepted the role of president,” said Brian Gunderson, Board Chair who oversaw the search. “Jim has a commitment to the agency, the community, and to the people seeking our programs. We are excited about the direction he and the talented management team will bring to FamilyMeans".

“I am humbled and honored to have been chosen to lead FamilyMeans as the next president,” said Kroening. “I am tremendously energized to lead an organization with such a strong, established leadership team and a track record of success. Though the current times are difficult and challenging, I am excited to continue to work with the FamilyMeans board, funders, and colleagues to provide client-centered, evidence-based programming to impact clients and the communities we serve.”

Kroening earned his Bachelors of Business Administration from University of Wisconsin-River Falls. In May 2013, he graduated from the Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. This two-year program is a joint project of the National Alliance for Children and Families, and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and School of Social Work. He has served on the Board of Directors of Stillwater Lions Club and Two Rivers Community Land Trust. He is an avid outdoorsman, runner, and golfer and is a volunteer with Standing Cedars Community Land Trust. He is a Stillwater native and he and his wife Amy have three adult children.

Additionally, Brian Gunderson thanks the diligent members of the search committee with whom he had the pleasure of working. The committee included current and past board and Next Generation members: Mike Clark, Becky Cummins, Marissa Lucio, Liz McGinley, Johan Nielsen, Linda Skoglund, and Jennifer Snyder.

Congratulations and best wishes to Jim!