Author, Poet, Educator, Entrepreneur and Podcast Host, Dr. Kecia Brown (“Dr. Kecia”) is a scholar-practitioner whose areas of interest are spirituality, career and leadership development, workplace learning, adult education, transition management, and diverse talent pipeline program design. While her work pulls from the latest in theory and research, the roots of her work are in her story. Kecia was born and raised in Inglewood, California, where she developed her skills of inquiry & research, relationship building & management, resourcefulness, and negotiating while navigating hostile environments.
With more than 25 years of experience in the field of Higher Education, Dr. Kecia currently serves as an adult educator while collaborating with schools, colleges and universities, corporate and non-profit organizations through her consulting firm, the Kingston Bay Group, LLC and coaching practice, Keeping Balanced Coaching. She designed the Wellbeing and Career Transformation Process™, a developmental experience that helps emerging and established leaders become more intentional about creating peaceful integration between 8 areas of wellness within their lives, especially during times of transition and crisis. Dr. Kecia’s engagement style is structured, compassionate, intuitive with a touch of humor in order to support leaders in challenging their underlying assumptions and aid them in re-positioning their definition of success.
Active in professional circles, Dr. Kecia frequently guest lectures and presents at conferences. Dr. Kecia’s presentations include (but are not limited to) “Understanding Organizational Dynamics in Education.” for the Lynch School of Education – Boston College; “Cutting the Apron Strings: Parenting and College Transition” for Parent University at Northeastern University; “Spirituality and Career Development of Black Women Leaders in Academe” at the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy Conference, and “The Enlightened Learner in Today’s Workplace: Bridging Boundaries to Link HR Practice to Adult Learning, Constructive-Developmental Theory, and Action Science” at the Academy of Human Resource Development Conference (AHRD). Dr. Kecia also conducted a monthly workshop at the Plymouth Massachusetts Career Center entitled: Self-Care During Job Transitions.
In addition to her speaking engagements, Dr. Kecia remains committed to public-school education and utilizes her pragmatic experience in Education to design innovative programs for schools in urban settings. Notably, she was called upon to serve as chief program designer and lead instructor for a job-training/workplace learning program developed for the oldest public-school district in the nation – Boston Public Schools (BPS). The Community Paraprofessional Development Program is a teacher diversity pipeline initiative designed for members of Boston’s diverse communities who are interested in starting a career in the Boston Public Schools.
As a proud first-generation college graduate, Kecia earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California, a Master of Arts degree in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego, and earned a Doctorate in Adult Learning and Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.
To-date, Dr. Kecia has published three books: Humanity’s Cup: Tales From the Inner Circle in 2006; God Don’t Like Ugly…And Is Not Too Fond of Pretty Either in 2018. For her third book in 2019, Dr. Kecia called upon the talents of her daughter, Makaila Imani to serve as Editor for their children’s book The Love of 10,000, The Love of 10,000 is a heartfelt love poem from a mother to her daughter was inspired by Dr. Maya Angelou’s poem “Our Grandmothers.”
Dr. Kecia is set to publish three new works between 2021 and 2022: The Future Is Waiting for You, There’s Room in the Kitchen for You: Words of Love to Men of Color and Emancipation Papers: A Poetic Journey of Truthtelling, Awakenings, Healing, and Transformation. Her podcast, More Than Metaphors is a virtual love space for those poetic and poetic-ish voices to examine the question: What happens when we find the courage to live our poetry out loud? The podcast combines guest interviews and posts from her blog, which focuses on transformative learning, love, justice, and liberation. Each episode of the podcast provides encouragement for leading more meaningful, spirited and poetic lives.
