Christel Gollnick
Christel Gollnick, founder and president of JUPER Communications, LLC, is a servant leader and collaborative manager with executive experience in several multi-faceted businesses and local/regional/national nonprofit organizations. A published author, proven visionary, relationship-builder, and entrepreneurial spirit, Christel is a strategist, researcher, and writer at heart.
Hailing from the small rural town of Hawley, Minnesota, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, doubling in English and journalism, from Augustana (College) University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1994. While at Augie she worked at Mikkelsen Library and The Center for Western Studies as the first Sheldon Reese Intern where she organized The Christopherson Papers and co-edited Driftwood In a Time of War by Marie C. Christopherson.
After graduating, she worked at Media One Advertising/Marketing, Siouxland Heritage Museums, and Aerostar International/Raven Industries before moving to Kansas City, Missouri in 1999. She spent her first decade there as the CEO/Executive Director of Angel Flight Central and national spokesperson for Angel Flight America. She then bought and merged River City Studio, a small marketing company of 15 team members, into Trozzolo Communications, a much larger Kansas City marketing agency. She continued her relationship with client Heartland Foundation/Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph, Missouri, to write and publish the book Come Together, Think Ahead: Inspiring People, Organizations & Communities to Thrive as well as serve as their Regional Relations Team Leader for two years.
Gollnick committed to JUPER Communications full-time in 2016, which is an opportunity that allows her to balance quality time with her husband and daughter, work with engaging clients who are positive difference-makers, and pursue a broad range of personal interests from hot air balloons, gardening, and genealogy to leading Girl Scouts, designing quilts and working on groundbreaking community development projects such as Communities of Excellence 2026 and Maximize Northwest Missouri. She is working on her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and has recently launched Roots and Rounds, a nonprofit organization bridging the wisdom and energy of all ages in communities through improved intergenerational communications and leadership.
