About Dr. Kimberly E. Osagie
Strategist, mirror, and voice distilling lived experience into systems-level design.
In Action
Kimberly is a Nigerian woman–replete with Louisiana charm and an NYC-inspired sense of bravado. Start a conversation about the songs you hum in the shower, the live theater that moved you most, or the guilty-pleasure television you can't quit. Kimberly blends this same mix of humor and humanity with 20+ years of leadership in education, social innovation, and philanthropy.
An educator by training and a systems strategist by experience, Kimberly recently served as Vice President of Programs at Echoing Green, challenging traditional funding models and accelerating long-overlooked leadership. She stewarded programming for the organization’s largest-ever equity investment–a $75M+ global leadership initiative–where she:
Supported 1,000 social innovators across 80+ countries;
Channeled $20M+ in unrestricted capital;
Increased partnerships ninefold in three years to surface underrepresented talent; and
Redesigned the flagship Fellowship to embed peer mentorship, codify leadership development, and strengthen organizational design so brilliance could thrive.
Now, as Founder and Lead Strategist at KEO Advising, Kimberly brings that same intentionality to organizations ready to challenge unspoken leadership rules. She partners with executives to reimagine the structures that shape opportunity and redesign leadership cultures to distribute power and deliver results. Through consulting engagements, fractional leadership roles, and select full-time opportunities, she continues to turn leaders’ ambitions into global action.
First Steps
Kimberly started her career teaching middle school English and Social Studies in Harlem, refusing to accept that demography should determine destiny. Elevated as a model classroom for superintendent reviews, she coached resident teachers in partnership with City College and launched an independent reading program that boosted comprehension by two grade levels in one year.
Over time, Kimberly saw that the biggest levers for students’ success were in adults’ hands–the arbiters of change at scale. That insight propelled her to roles developing the systems, resources, and leadership cultures to help adults and their students thrive. She joined Democracy Prep Charter High School as Founding Reading Department Lead, then continued her startup journey as Founding Associate Dean at Relay Graduate School of Education–the first new graduate school of education launched in New York City in more than 80 years. There, she:
Launched and tripled partnership with NYC Teaching Fellows,
Trained over 650 novice teachers across district and charter schools, and
Designed hybrid professional learning on general pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching for educators nationwide.
Kimberly shared her expertise on national and international stages, including Harvard's Alumni of Color Conference, Teach for America's National Conference, South Africa's Lebone College, and Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls.
Breadth Work
To deepen her expertise, Kimberly pursued doctoral study while consulting for Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Business School, and Walton Family Foundation–the second largest education funder in the U.S. She:
Advised districts and trained faculty on scaling culturally responsive student-facing and equitable staff-facing structures,
Crafted messaging strategies for an expanding startup to reach diverse audiences, and
Advised senior philanthropy leaders on designing inclusive talent strategies and directing grants to high-quality schools and underrepresented leaders.
Between coursework and consulting, Kimberly honed her global lens, traveling to Lebanon to explore the Syrian refugee crisis’ impact on local education systems.
Newly-minted Dr. Osagie then joined Curriculum Associates as Vice President of Educator Success–partnering with People Operations to create the company’s first inclusion strategy for 800+ employees, while overseeing professional learning programs for educator teams in 11,000+ school systems nationwide. Kimberly later brought this scaled-systems vantage to her role as Partner at Promise54, cultivating courageous leadership during change. She:
Managed a $1M client portfolio annually, advising 100+ senior executives on leadership and organizational resilience;
Co-authored three, multi-year case studies of “radically human” organizational change efforts; and
Led the strategy, design, and implementation of an annual leadership accelerator, guiding 40+ organizations through transformational culture and systems initiatives.
Honored
Kimberly holds a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard; a Master's in Teaching Secondary English from Pace University; and undergraduate degrees in English and Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia as a Jefferson, Echols, and Ridley Scholar.
A celebrated, systems-change leader, Kimberly has earned recognition through:
Pahara Fellowship for education leadership (2014),
Derek Bok Center for Teaching Excellence Award at Harvard (2017),
Equity Lab Seeding Disruption Fellowship for advancing place-based approaches to systemic change (2020), and
Black Fox Fellowship for philanthropy leadership (2022 & 2023).
After a decade in New York City, Kimberly currently lives in Washington, DC with a pandemic-inspired collection of houseplants and an unwavering commitment to what principled leadership makes possible beyond the boardroom.