Meet Kolbi Jackson, Executive Director, Department of Metropolitan Development
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Age: 39
Family: Husband Theodore; children Kabryen, 20, Khye, 11, and Khaori, 7
Education: bachelor’s degree in urban planning and development, Ball State University; Master of Public Administration, Capella University; Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration, Capella University
DMD Executive Director Salary: $103,814
From growing up in Indianapolis, to graduating high school in Phoenix, Arizona, to studying architecture in Muncie, Indiana, to moving to Evansville to run the Department of Metropolitan Development, Kolbi Jackson always seems to end up right where she is meant to be.
After her first year at Ball State University, she was prompted to select a definitive career path. Jackson, who simultaneously had her first child, no longer could devote herself to pursuing architecture. She pivoted to “the next best thing,” urban planning.
“It was something that I’ve always been drawn to,” Jackson says. “I’ve always wanted to be involved in designing, building, or planning.”
Three years after her graduation from Ball State, she moved in 2012 to Evansville, the hometown of her future husband, Theodore.
Jackson got her start at Keep Evansville Beautiful, an environmental and community nonprofit, while simultaneously working on a master’s degree in public administration through Capella University’s online program.
After a six-month stint at KEB, Jackson was given the opportunity to work at Evansville’s Department of Metropolitan Development in 2014 by former director Kelley Coures.
Jackson continued to climb the ranks at DMD while also earning a doctorate through Capella, showing her now three children “what you can accomplish if you work hard and stay determined on your goals,” she says.
Jackson took a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2023, but it wouldn’t take long for DMD to come calling after her mentor, Coures, retired.
“I wasn’t sure what my path was going to be, but here I am,” Jackson says. “I truly believe that, at any one point in your life, you’re meant to be where you are.”
What To Know About The Department of Metropolitan Development
Kolbi Jackson says she has adjusted quickly since her return to DMD in January, recently holding ribbon cuttings for housing developments in Jacobsville such as Baker Flats and announcing plans for new apartments to be built near Bosse Field. “Affordable housing is a hot topic, and it is very much needed in this community,” Jackson says. “Whatever we can do to close that gap and get our residents into affordable homes is a step in the right direction.” Jackson hopes to use her position to be an architect of change who residents can be proud of.
