Karinn Cologne Appointed as COO!

Imagine LA COO Karinn Cologne (L) & CEO Tulynn Smylie (R).

Imagine LA is excited to announce the promotion of Karinn Cologne to Chief Operating Officer! With this new leadership structure, Karinn will oversee all internal operations and programs, while our CEO TuLynn Smylie will focus on the agency’s external relationships and advocacy efforts.  

Karinn joined the agency in 2020 as the People and Operations Director. Within this role, she demonstrated a powerful commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion and the creation of a workplace culture that is safe, supportive, inclusive, and fun. Karinn also initiated training and guidelines for a trauma-informed approach in the workplace to better serve both our staff and families. By providing structure to and stability within agency-wide discussions, Karinn has created an environment where staff can show up as themselves, be valued and heard, and learn through challenges and barriers together.  

Looking ahead, Karinn is eager to continue providing Imagine LA staff with opportunities for growth and development, while also specifically supporting our Program team in creating clear metrics to measure both qualitative and quantitative success as we look to increase not only the number of families that we serve, but the impact we have as well. Our CEO TuLynn notes that, “Karinn's commitment to collaboration and aptitude for problem solving will serve her well as Imagine LA’s inaugural COO!”  

Karinn is “thrilled for this new opportunity to strategize and collaborate with this incredible team on ways to build a foundation of success for serving our mission.” 

We are so proud of Karinn’s immense growth at Imagine LA within just a few years’ time. Congratulations, Karinn!