Dr. Kearney brings extensive professional experience as a life-span education leader, researcher, diversity-inclusion-belonging consultant, and executive coach. During her tenure at Gallup, she led strategic and operational responsibilities as: executive director of the International Positive Psychology Institute, Vice President of Social Audits (Gallup’s national polling on topics such as Black-White Race Relations, America’s Youth (for America’s Promise), Have and Have Nots, Drug Use and Abuse (White House – Office of the Drug Czar), Gambling, Child Discipline, etc.), development of Gallup’s Workplace Inclusiveness Audit and consulting practice, and selection analyst and management consultant/coach for academic, corporate, and federal agency clients. As a loaned executive, Dr. Kearney served as Chief Academic Officer for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s board, was a co-founder of TMCF’s annual Leadership & Career Institute, Summer Urban Teachers Institute, also provided Clifton-Strengths and Leadership coaching to college presidents, administrators, faculty, and students.
Prior to Gallup, Dr. Kearney was Foundation Director of the Executive Leadership Council (an association of Fortune 1000 executive-level corporate African-Americans), Education Program Officer at The Prudential Foundation, Consultant for the National Medical Association, Research Associate for Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Recruiter and Development Associate for Harvard’s Council for Graduate Management Education (COGME, a cooperative to recruit and fund minorities to top-tier, ivy-league graduate business schools). At Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Kearney was project coordinator on research for a peer-led social inoculation intervention to prevent smoking and drug use in adolescents. Dr. Kearney began her professional career as a Boston Public Schools Special Education Teacher before promotion to Special Education high school administrator.
Kearney received her Doctorate and Master’s degrees from Harvard University in Administration, Planning and Social Policy (Dissertation: Initiating, Legitimizing and Implementing School-based Health Clinics – A Case Study), a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology from Boston College, a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Northeastern University (Hampton University). Dr. Kearney’s most coveted honors include an MVP from Gallup, Distinguished Service award from the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a special accommodation from the Founder of Executive Leadership Council, Center of Influence medal for the U.S. Army HBCU – ROTC initiative, and West Point Military Academy Honorary Recruiter.
Kearney resides in Connecticut and is currently writing a book about her aunt, Major (then Captain) Mary Francis Kearney who during World War 2 was Chief of Mail and Commanding Officer – Company A for the 6888th Central Postal Directory, a battalion of 854 women of color who will receive a Congressional Gold Medal.
