Past Work

Rodney Thomas has served several organizations and institutions, large and small, in several ways, including strategic advisement, design thinking, executive coaching, and thought partnership. A few of those organizations are highlighted here.

  • Engaged various leaders across the organization around a human-centered design process focused on practicing self-awareness, reflecting on team health, identifying a challenge, understanding people’s experiences who are closest to the challenge, and brainstorming innovative approaches and solutions to the challenge.

  • Supported the superintendent and senior team to identify a set of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion priorities that included a district-wide equity audit, formation of a cross-functional design team, articulating of an equity-focused problem statement, identifying equitable approaches for addressing systemic inequities, and design of an implementation plan to include long and short term goals.

  • Description National speaker and Executive Coach for Surge Fellowship and Academy programs in multiple cities across the country.

  • Developed a multi-day design sprint for HGSE to design a graduate course around leadership entry for education sector leaders.

“Rodney helped us better understand our aspirations and the problems we were facing so that we could collaboratively design solutions drawing on our many strengths.”

— Jennifer Perry Cheatham, Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“At the organizational level, Rodney has created a space where a diverse group of individuals can have critical conversations about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and commit to a course of action. ”

— Dan Keyser, Superintendent at School District of Beloit