BATON ROUGE, La. — Emergent Method has announced that Kelsea McCrary, a public-sector leader whose work spans economic development, cultural strategy and major public-private initiatives, has joined the Baton Rouge–based consulting firm as a manager.
Shaping Local Economies Through Public-Sector Leadership
McCrary most recently served as the chief economic and cultural development officer for the City of Monroe, where she led downtown revitalization efforts, advanced creative place-keeping strategies and oversaw major preservation projects and federal grants. Her portfolio there included coordinating city and regional responses to large-scale investments such as Meta’s $27 billion data center planned for neighboring Richland Parish.
Before her tenure in Monroe, she directed civic design and cultural district programs for the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development and held policy and communications roles with Lumen Technologies and the University of Louisiana Monroe.
Nick Speyrer, president of Emergent Method, said McCrary’s background aligns directly with the firm’s work in economic development, public-sector strategy and stakeholder engagement. “The impact of her public service can be seen across Louisiana,” Speyrer said. “Her experience will strengthen our ability to support clients implementing complex projects and building community trust across the state.”
Emergent Method’s Expanding Public-Sector Portfolio
McCrary joins Emergent Method at a time of continued growth for the firm, which was founded in 2012 by LSU graduates and now has nearly 200 staff and more than 300 clients in 20 states.
The company has taken on a series of high-profile public-sector planning assignments in recent years, including strategic-planning work for LSU’s College of Science and the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. In that role, the firm’s team has assisted institutional leaders with long-range planning, data analysis and broad-based engagement efforts — areas that mirror the type of stakeholder and community-driven processes McCrary has led in north Louisiana.
In her new position, McCrary will support clients across economic development, public outreach and strategic-planning initiatives. A native of northeast Louisiana, she holds a master’s degree in public administration from Louisiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Louisiana Monroe. She also serves as vice-chair of the Louisiana State Arts Council, sits on the board of the Louisiana Partnership for the Arts and leads the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation.
More information about McCrary and the Emergent Method team is available at emergentmethod.com/team.
