About Us

We are inspired by the digitally native generation, but the folks currently leading most education institutions, initiatives and organizations are, like us, predominantly baby boomers.

We know we must embrace the new digital paradigm, but many of us are intimidated by the medium or question its relevance to our day-to-day work.

Ours is a team of seasoned professionals with a collective portfolio that includes decades of policy making, program development, advocacy, research, mediation, marketing, graphic and web design, and writing. We understand the leap our client-partners often feel they are taking and asking others to take. We are you!

The hallmark of our work is our skill in combining disciplined planning, flexible engagement, and actionable analysis.

Work always begins with a good plan, but we recognize that reality is a shape shifter. No sooner is a plan developed then factors change and we have to adapt as goals are pursued. KPI is nimble and continuously responds to project circumstances as they are, not as we hope them to be. We keep moving toward the set goals. We get work done on-time and within budget.

Diana D. Woolis, Ed.D., Founding Partner, for over two decades, has led organizations in the education, nonprofit, public, sectors at the city, state, and national levels. Prior to founding KPI, Diana was Vice President and Director of Program Demonstration at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). Her work has been published in professional and popular journals and is focused on access and equity, organizational learning, and most recently the power of the Internet to revolutionize programs and policy. She received her Doctorate and Masters Degrees in education from Columbia University and a Masters of Social Work from The University of Connecticut.

Susan Restler, Founding Partner, has had a 25-year career in financial services with JP Morgan. She was a Managing Director and head of Marketing for JP Morgan Private Banking and JP Morgan Investment Management. Prior to joining Diana in forming KPI she developed the marketing strategy for an Internet-based personal financial management service. Susan has served on the Board of the Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, a network of five publicly funded day care centers. She also chaired the Board of Trustees of the Packer Collegiate Institute, an independent school in Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of Radcliffe College/Harvard University and has an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Brenda Kaulback, Communities Manager, facilitates groups -- large and small, virtual and face-to-face -- and trains others in facilitation skills. Her particular interest is in bringing people together across boundaries - systems, cultural, or geographical. She has experience with Future Search, Open Space, and Family Group Conferences and other large- and small-scale group interventions. Her work is grounded in Appreciative Inquiry and strengths-based practice. Brenda directed programs in state government (policy and management, higher education, labor, and welfare) for many years and has been an independent consultant in the public sector for more than ten years. She has an extensive background in education and the social services. She has a BA from Bates College and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Maine. Brenda is currently a doctoral student at Fielding Graduate University.

Lisa Levinson, Communities Manager, strives to hear the voices of those in the community who aren't always heard. Her 25 years in public, not for profit and educational organizations includes leading cross-agency initiatives, and projects on the local, state and national levels. As director of the Equipped for the Future National Center at the University of Maine, Lisa was responsible for standards implementation -- working with students, teachers, program administrators and state officials, as well as involving businesses and experts in adult learning to guide the project. Lisa has used technology and web-based tools to manage a nationally distributed staff, and knows how essential these tools are for creating community when distance creates a challenge to collaborative work. She is versed in a variety of strength-based techniques to explore and then achieve common goals including consensus building, the Right Question, and Study Circles as well as Transformative Mediation. Lisa has a MS from New York University and certificates in mediation and facilitation.

Doris Reeves-Lipscomb, Communities Manager, believes that her most satisfying work may be yet to come. Doris works to effect social change benefiting people and communities. Her background includes state public policy development in state legislatures, the AARP, and the Office of the Florida Governor; program leadership in state government; distance collaboration design and facilitation; and economic development for women and girls. She enjoys working with individuals, groups, and networks to innovate ideas and change processes to make dreams come true. As a contractor doing program development and facilitation, Doris made her biggest transition perhaps--from computer-phobe to computer-phile. Consequently, she is happily focused on realizing the collaborative potential of computers and the Internet for public sector and nonprofit groups to accelerate their learning and performance. Doris has a BSW and MSW from Florida State University, and certificates in OD, performance excellence, and facilitation.

Susan James, Ph.D., research consultant, is a behavioral scientist with more than a decade of experience in the direction of national and local research projects, designed in response to a variety of public health and social justice concerns. With a focus on cultural ecologies, she examined the mental health effects of exposure to structural and other types of violence among vulnerable groups. James established innovative action research agendas while holding senior positions at leading research institutions of Cornell University, New York University, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. She specializes in mixed methods, film and new media design solutions for implementation, analysis and dissemination of scientific research. James has been a member of the faculty at Sarah Lawrence College and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She earned a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and a Ph.D. from New York University. She is founder and President of Research Imaging Productions, a research and communications design consulting company, serving the non-profit sector.

Laren Droll, Webmaster, supports Polilogue, KPI's virtual community of practice technology. He has become expert at adapting the technology to meet the specific needs of KPI's clients, and continually develops improvements to the software. Laren also focuses on helping clients gain a firm footing with the new technology. Laren has worked in the field of computer-aided design for over 15 years, founding his own Web Design business in 1999. He is also a talented artist. Laren has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis.

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