Ryan Killebrew (’19)

Community-Centered Consulting

To impact those in her community, Ryan Killebrew (‘19) founded Killebrew Consulting, a financial coaching and consulting firm that aims to educate and empower small business owners and individuals through personal financial coaching, business services and financial literacy workshops.

Killebrew transferred to the Philadelphia location of LBC | Capital ­from another college after seeing how transformative it was for her husband, Derrick (’20). “I saw the shift in his biblical perspective and [how his] approach to Scripture had deepened intellectually and spiritually, so I wanted to experience that for myself,” she said. Killebrew noted how the accelerated dual program appealed to her as a working mother with many responsibilities.

Her experience growing up in Camden, N.J., inspired her to start her business to help her community after nearly 10 years of working in multiple facets of banking. “Being from an urban area, especially one that [has] impoverished communities, financial literacy is not talked about often,” she said. “It’s not taught in curriculum at school, and it’s something that many aren’t exposed to.”

Her aim is to equip individuals and small businesses with the tools they need for stewardship. Killebrew believes that financial knowledge is powerful and transformative for current and future generations.

Killebrew shared how LBC | Capital helped her build a framework for viewing her work as ministry. “One of my professors called it ‘marketplace ministry’ because as Christians we don’t only engage in community with our church,” she said, adding that her professors’ emphasis on a biblical framework shaped her business plan and approach to financial stewardship.

Killebrew’s business has three primary sectors: personal finance coaching for individuals and couples; business services that cover everything from laying the financial foundation to building out a business; and financial literacy workshops that provide an affordable option for those interested in stewardship. Killebrew has taught financial literacy to “kindergarteners all the way up to seasoned clients.”

Moving forward, Killebrew plans to develop a financial literacy curriculum for students and eventually hopes to expand her business so that she can hire more bookkeepers and coaches from her community.

“I’ve always been a people person,” she said. “My purpose has been to serve, support and educate others. My business helps individuals, the community and future generations. Seeing clients succeed fuels me.”