Dr. Kendra Ferguson has spent more than 25 years fighting for educational equity as a teacher, principal, professional coach and school system leader. Dr. Ferguson is the founder of Ferguson Consulting Group, where she and her partners provide operational, strategic and mindful organizational support to heighten team performance. Often described as a Performance Culture Architect, in collaboration with her clients she designs, refines and aligns the ways of working, policies and structures to meet organizational outcomes. She actively seeks out and welcomes voices who are often marginalized, to help shape the plans and accurately identify needed resources to achieve the bottom line. Much of Kendra’s career has been dedicated to developing, mentoring and sponsoring adults to lead organizations focused on educating Black and Brown children, achieve excellence. Most recently, Kendra served as CEO of KIPP Memphis for five years. Prior to her role in Memphis, Kendra she served as Chief People Officer and prior to that Chief of Schools at KIPP Bay Area Schools (now KIPP NorCal). During her five-year tenure there, all of the KIPP Bay Area schools attained the prestigious national Blue Ribbon designation, and the majority of students achieved success on a set of measures that indicate readiness to succeed in college. During the same period, racial diversity among the teaching staff increased from one-third to two-thirds. Prior to her work with KIPP Bay Area Schools, Kendra worked at the KIPP Foundation, served as consultant to charter and traditional schools across the country and was a charter school founder for Aspire Public Schools. Kendra serves as a mentor and coach for educational leaders throughout the country. A proud mother of three and a native of Oakland, California, Kendra is a continual learner. Kendra earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from National-Louis University, where she completed a dissertation on Sponsorship as a way to overcome barriers to executive success for African-American women. She also holds a MA in Education, Policy Analysis and Administration from Stanford and a BA from the University of Washington.