Our Story
Testing the Waters
When I was young, my grandparents bought a small cabin on a shallow bay on the south Puget Sound so that the grandchildren could grow up playing around and safely exploring the water. As we grew older, my grandpa allowed us to row a tiny aluminum boat around the bay but warned us against going past the point. We dreamed of venturing out of the bay into the uncertainty of the wide channel beyond, but we knew we needed more time to prepare.
Only after my grandpa taught us how to navigate the currents, inlets and shorelines of the open water did we feel the confidence to strike out on our own. Gliding past the point for the first time on our own was a glorious and defining experience and one that my grandpa made possible.
At Big Water Consulting, we seek to take our responsible and appropriately cautious clients beyond their traditional limits so that they can reap the benefits of exploration and boundary testing while developing a greater understanding and appreciation of where they have come from… as we did when we looked back on our cozy, safe little bay from the vantage of the rolling waves of the big water.
– Kevin Klingbeil, Owner of Big Water Consulting
Our Mission
Big Water Consulting is a consulting firm located in Seattle, Washington which specializes in helping tribal, governmental and nonprofit clients collect, analyze, manage, share and act on relevant data. Our goal is to help these organizations, through the development of good data practices, to more effectively monitor and evaluate their work, improve decision making, generate more support and manage more efficiently. Big Water Consulting and its partner organizations seek to identify lasting solutions that: promote self-sufficiency; incorporate the highest appropriate level of technology; identify and mobilize available resources; reflect our clients’ organizational and cultural values; and diminish the need to hire a contractor to provide similar services in the future.
Our Team
Kevin Klingbeil
Managing Director
Big Water Consulting is owned by Kevin Klingbeil, a geographer, Indian housing lawyer and former manager for the U.S. Census Bureau. Kevin has represented tribal housing clients in government-to-government consultations and served as a technical expert for the IHBG Formula Negotiated Rulemaking Committee’s Data Study Group in 2014-2016. Prior to working in the fields of Indian housing law and federal data collection, Kevin practiced environmental, natural resources, water and property law.
Chloe Adler
Research Associate
Chloe’s work with Big Water includes survey design, data analysis, and project reporting. Chloe is a public health and housing policy professional with experience providing direct social services, creating and documenting state-level housing policy, and conducting environmental health research. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from UC Berkeley, and her background includes work connecting unhoused clients to affordable housing and advocating for their housing rights, as well as creating policy documentation for statewide programs providing affordable housing to people with chronic disabilities.
HOLLY BOLSTAD
Research Coordinator
Holly is a dedicated outreach professional recognized for her work and academic experience in community organizing, facilitation, and housing and economic development policy. She supports Big Water research associates on housing and community development projects and clients with her passion for holistic, community-driven solutions to economic stability. Holly holds a Master’s Degree in Advocacy and Political Leadership from Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Prior to Big Water, Holly lead efforts for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for the Kitsap Public Health District in Bremerton, Washington.
David Dixon
Research Associate
As a member of the Big Water team since October 2021, David focuses his work on strategies for equitable housing and community development. He holds a Master's degree in City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, where his research focused on identifying the impacts of housing policy on public health through statistical analysis. Prior to working at Big Water, David worked as a Planning Intern with Clarion Associates, conducting community engagement and creating comprehensive plans for towns throughout the Southeast US. He also holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
Harry Maher
Data Analyst
As a Data Analyst with Big Water Consulting, Harry helps collect, clean, and analyze relevant spatial and non-spatial data and supports data visualization and reporting. He also trains staff so that they can perform field data collection and essential housing-related GIS activities. Harry went to Grinnell College where he received his degree in Psychology with a Neuroscience Concentration.
Anna Malesis
Graduate Associate
As an Graduate Associate at Big Water Consulting, Anna helps generate and manage surveys; monitor, clean, and analyze data; research and write reports; and design PR materials. She is currently a Master of Urban Planning student at the University of Washington studying Environmental Planning, and she plans to focus her research on urban ecology. She also holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management: Wildlife Conservation from the University of Washington. Her combined background in both social and quantitative sciences aids her in her work at Big Water.
Asma Naeem
Graduate Associate
Asma is a Graduate Intern/Associate at Big Water Consulting and aims to support Research Associates with survey research and data analysis. Asma is currently pursuing her Master’s of Science in Information Systems from the Foster School of Business, University of Washington. Asma has previously worked as a Research Associate at University of Minnesota’s Economics Department and is passionate about understanding the numerous ways data can help solve problems in communities.
DEVONI WHITEHEAD
Research Associate
Devoni’s work at Big Water Consulting centers community perspectives and needs to inform the data collection process and survey techniques to best suit her clients. Devoni holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, where she primarily focused on social policy and its intersection within environmental justice and food sovereignty. Her background includes conducting evaluation on initiatives such as the King County Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot project and tracking housing displacement in the Duwamish Valley area.