Kristin Bechard
Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
B.S., Accounting, University of Kansas
B.S., Business Administration, University of Kansas
M.S., Accounting, University of Kansas
M.S., Information Systems, University of Kansas
Profile
Kristin Bechard is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, where she leads long-range financial planning and the annual budgeting process. She serves as the primary liaison to American Century Investments and BioMed Valley Discoveries and oversees financial operations for the Stowers Graduate School.
Before joining Stowers, Bechard served as Chief Financial Officer at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, providing strategic financial leadership for an organization with a $150 million annual budget and a $3 billion endowment. She played a central role in long-term strategic and budgetary planning and led the Finance & Grants Administration, Technology, and Facilities teams.
Her earlier experience includes financial roles at American Century Investments and Arthur Andersen LLP.
Bechard was named CFO of the Year in 2016 by the Kansas City Business Journal in the nonprofit category. In 2024, she joined the board of the Blue Valley Education Foundation and currently serves as a board member. She is also a Bloch LEAD Scholar with the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) Bloch School of Management.
Previously, she served as treasurer and a board member of the Ewing Marion Kauffman School and held treasurer roles with other nonprofits affiliated with the Kauffman Foundation.
Bechard holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business administration and a master’s degree in accounting and information systems from the University of Kansas. She is a licensed CPA and CGMA and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Missouri Society of CPAs.
