Dr. Kimberly Harden

Dr. Kimberly Harden, the CEO of Harden Consulting Group, is a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant. She advises corporate, nonprofit, and academic leaders on their recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion strategies and works with them to resolve interpersonal workplace conflicts. She also helps organizations shift from a traditional diversity model to one that emphasizes diversity, interpersonal communication, and talent management (DEBIT Training™).

An award-winning educator and has more than 10 years of experience serving as a professor of Communication Studies. Dr. Harden was a professor at Seattle University before founding Harden Consulting Group, LLC. She is an acclaimed keynoter who has spoken at numerous conferences, seminars, and events about diversity, equity, belonging, and authenticity in the workplace. She is also the author of the book The Allyship Challenge, which discusses being actively engaged in promoting the rights of historically marginalized groups.

Dr. Harden is passionate about justice, leadership, care, and transformation. In 2022, she received the Innovative Response to Social Justice Award from the Commission of Social Justice Educators; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Spirit Award for Community, Equity, and Social Justice from Washington State University; and the Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring from the University of Washington.

Dr. Harden received her undergraduate degree in Communication from the University of Washington, a master’s degree in Communication and Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Concordia University. Dr. Harden agrees with Aristotle’s assertion that “educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”