Finding the right chief people officer is one of the highest-leverage decisions a growing education organization can make. KIPP Colorado was at a pivotal moment, scaling fast, deepening its equity commitments, and needing someone who could build the people infrastructure to match the ambition of its mission. Erica brought exactly that: deep experience, genuine values alignment, and the kind of leadership presence that earns trust across an organization. Placing her at KIPP Colorado is the kind of work we are built to do.
KIPP Colorado was scaling quickly and needed a chief people leader to build the talent infrastructure to match its mission, before the gaps became problems.
By 2022, KIPP Colorado had grown to six schools serving more than 2,000 students in Denver, with a staff team that had expanded 50% in five years. Following an executive leadership transition, the network created a new Chief People Officer role to give its talent and culture work dedicated executive ownership.
The risk was real: without the right leader, KIPP Colorado's equity commitments and student outcomes depended on HR systems that didn't yet exist at the scale the organization needed.
Proactively sourced Erica Garcia through active outreach. Her career spanned the roles of Senior Director of Talent and HR at STRIVE Preparatory Schools, Director of Personnel and Talent at Aurora Public Schools, and Managing Director of Staff Knowledge and Learning Strategy at Teaching Trust.
Ran a rigorous, evidence-based assessment: performance task, structured interviews, and scenario-based roleplays that showed how Erica leads under real organizational conditions, not just how she interviews.
Evaluated the full picture: technical depth in talent acquisition, HR operations, and DEI strategy, plus the personal credibility of a first-generation college graduate, military veteran, and JD/MPA who earns trust quickly across an organization.
Stronger Consulting partners with mission-driven organizations to turn complex challenges into clear, practical action, from strategy through implementation.
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