We Build Systems in Which Every Student Thrives.
KCD Consulting partners with education leaders to design solutions that transform systems by centering the power and priorities of students and communities.
When you’re working to transform education, the possibilities are vast — and the stakes are high. Lasting change requires clarity, collaboration, and centering the voices of those most connected to the work.
If you want to:
Deepen your understanding of the challenges and opportunities for systems-change
Build more equitable and effective systems
Align priorities across stakeholder groups to strengthen collaboration and impact
Learn from and elevate those most proximate to students and communities
We work with you to co-create solutions that ignite change, break the status quo, and ensure you’re working with urgency on behalf of every student.
Our Specialties
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Foundations investing in education can go further together. We help launch, support, and direct collaboratives that maximize philanthropic reach and effectiveness. Our approach centers community wisdom, aligns priorities across partners, and builds shared strategies that advance equity and lasting systems change.
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We specialize in mixed-methods research, human-centered design, strategic planning, and facilitation to help organizations transform their impact in education. Across all projects, we partner with students, families, and communities to generate insights that clarify the what, how, and why of your strategy — ensuring decisions are informed by those closest to the work.
I’m Kathleen Dutta.
Education systems are complex, and real change often feels out of reach. Over the past decade, I’ve worked as a teacher, researcher, policy analyst, and philanthropic leader—seeing firsthand how systems-level conversations can lose sight of what matters most: students.
I created KCD Consulting with a simple belief that all students, especially those historically underserved, must remain at the center of our work. Drawing on my experience in classrooms, state agencies, and national funder collaboratives, I partner with education leaders and foundations to co-create policies, strategies, and grantmaking approaches that ensure education systems truly work for every student.
KCD Consulting is committed to improving experiences and outcomes for the diverse array of students with a particular emphasis on students with disabilities and multilingual learners.
OUR VALUES:Racial equity must lead the way
Students of color, their families, and their communities bring strength, brilliance, and leadership that must be at the center of education systems. Advancing equity means listening to, amplifying, and investing in these voices to create meaningful and lasting change.
Designing for inclusion benefits everyone
Students with disabilities and multilingual learners represent a quarter of U.S. K–12 students—yet they are too often treated as an afterthought. When we design policies and strategies with these students at the center, we create solutions that work better for every student.
Communities hold the answers
Consultants don’t have the answers—communities do. Those closest to the work carry insights we can’t afford to ignore. Our role is to create space for their voices, elevate their leadership, and connect the dots across systems.
In partnership with those closest to the work, we can transform education systems so all students thriveLet’s get started!
clients and partners:
