Consultant, Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Leadership

Kisha Xiomara Palmer is a Seattle based Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Leadership Consultant. Kisha focuses on capacity building through an equity and inclusion lens, and coaches executives and leadership teams through transformational change. Kisha focuses on values alignment, self-awareness and relationship building as core to understanding and leveraging differences. Kisha has worked in the independent schools sector as the Director of Women as Global Leaders at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bellevue, WA (2009-2016) and as the interim Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at New Canaan Country School (2017-2018). While at Forest Ridge she built an experiential global leadership curriculum for young women and supported the school’s Diversity and Inclusion efforts. During her time as the interim Director of DEI at New Canaan Country School Kisha led the coaching and professional development of the faculty and staff while re- structuring the office of DEI to distribute accountability and leadership.

Kisha’s practice as an inclusive leadership consultant is rooted in her values of truth, well-being and joy. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Vassar College and an MPA from the UW Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. Kisha is a current Board member of the Burke Museum and serves as co-chair of the Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusion (DEAI) Committee as well as the Nominating and Governance Committee. Kisha has also served as a community volunteer with the Dispute Resolution Center of King County and the City of Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative. Kisha is the founder and principal of The Institute for Inclusive Leadership. http://www.instituteforinclusiveleadership.com