Guided by her passion for education and empowering young students to find their aspirations in life, Kristan McIntyre has excelled at Students of Service in San Antonio, Texas since 2024. At the organization—which provides middle school and high school students with experiential learning opportunities to build career options and a global perspective to solve local problems through community service—she recently advanced from program manager to community manager. In this capacity, she has developed, expanded, and led the Teen Medical Academy, introducing students to numerous health care career paths, and the Exploring Justice Program, where they can venture into the legal and criminal justice fields through mentorship connections, scholarships, and internship opportunities.
In addition, Ms. McIntyre is an active member of the outreach committee for SOS Club Initiatives. As a testament to her impact in this position, SOS only had four clubs when she started in 2024; within two and a half months of outreach, she grew the SOS Clubs network to 16 clubs before the end of that year. Currently, the organization has 17 active SOS clubs—and her program work has had a significant impact on more than 300 students. Among her myriad responsibilities, she creates materials to outline the program structures and develop the application process. She is involved with grant requirements, accessibility for program funding, and establishing a three-tier financial system that offers partial to full scholarships, especially geared toward marginalized students to ensure access and equity. Furthering her reach with students and the community, she speaks English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Ms. McIntyre’s entry into the nonprofit field began at just 11 years old, when she, her sister, and her mother, a Certified Public Accountant for Hermes Music in the Rio Grande Village of South Texas, participated in a company holiday toy drive. As part of the firm’s community service initiative, they collected toys and delivered them to Reynosa, a border town near Mexico. She became involved through strong encouraged from her mother and it had a strong impact on her: seeing families living in cardboard boxes and children without homes made her realize her own privilege and the importance of giving back. Outside of that experience, she had already always helped friends and classmates, but that moment marked a turning point where she felt inspired to pursue something greater than herself.
Upon earning a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from St. Mary’s University, Ms. McIntyre began her career at the Texas Impact Foundation in Austin, where she worked as an outreach coordinator from 2015 to 2016. She was subsequently active in a similar capacity as a volunteer coordinator and administrative assistant for the city of San Antonio, during which time she bolstered her credentials by obtaining a Master of Arts in international relations and affairs, with a specialization in conflict transformation, from her alma mater. Prior to her appointment at Students of Service, she found success at George Salinas Injury Lawyers, where she served as a paralegal-damages coordinator, assisting in all phases of the pre-litigation process and corresponding with clients, insurance agents, and medical providers across more than 100 cases.
As her career evolves, Ms. McIntyre envisions that, in about five years, she could have her own consulting agency or possibly a nonprofit, not in a competitive environment but focused on connecting needs to the right populations. She believes in the power of building community and paying it forward, regardless of one’s age—and hopes her unique skill set allows her to effectively maximize available resources and achieve this goal.
Beyond her professional responsibilities, Ms. McIntyre demonstrates a strong commitment to civic engagement. She donates regularly to Goodwill and Dress for Success in San Antonio. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and going on long nature walks with her dogs.