About Me
Over the years, Dr. Bowers has taken on high profile and often politically controversial advocacy relative to issues affecting youth such as teen mental health, campus safety, charter oversight reform and accountability, suburban poverty, youth vaping, equity and inclusion, vaccination access, and Internet for All, at the local, regional, State and national level. Her body of work has been honored by the Association of California School Administrators, the American Association of University Women, Phi Delta Kappa, CSU East Bay, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and the California State Assembly. She is a frequent presenter at educational conferences, serves as a resource, coach, mentor, facilitator and thought partner for new superintendents and elected school board members, and is actively involved as a community leader.
Dr. Bowers is perhaps best known for her considerable skill in restoring, building, boosting and maintaining relational trust in complex organizations – whether in the workplace, within a governance team, among constituents and the larger community, and with unions. Her research and evidence-based strategies that she successfully put into practice are illuminated in her dissertation, A Study of School Board and Superintendent Relations: Strategies for Building Trust in the Mistrustful Context of K-12 Public Education. In her executive consulting role with TSS, she is committed to leveraging her doctoral studies (UCB Leadership for Educational Equity Program) and pivotal scholar/practitioner experiences and expertise for the cultivation, betterment and empowerment of our current and next generation of educational and civic leaders.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Bowers spearheaded or expanded the implementation of specialized programs such as Dual Immersion, Green Engineering/Biotech, International Baccalaureate, TK-12 Project Lead the Way, Ag Science, Middle College and more recently, AVID and YouthBuild career technical education, designed to provide diverse pathways to success. An emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), particularly for young women and those who are traditionally underrepresented, is a hallmark of her tenure. During her superintendency, Dr. Bowers consistently advocated for the development of the whole child through an established Framework for Success that emphasized academic, behavioral and social emotional learning and support.
As a first-generation college attendee and proud product of public schools, Bowers’ service in high-level leadership roles in education and her subsequent transition to nonprofit leadership and consulting for educational leaders and elected trustees, arises from her desire to contribute, to motivate, and to improve upon the status quo. She staunchly believes that all children deserve an excellent educational foundation with multiple opportunities for higher education and a range of career choices. She has also seen firsthand how strong, stable leadership can make all the difference, acknowledging that now, more than ever, we need passionate, skilled, ethical and equity-driven leaders to navigate an increasingly volatile arena, while staying the course.
Bio
TSS Executive Consultant, Dr. Kelly Bowers, successfully led the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) for twelve years, (ADA 13,400). She has extensive professional experience as an educator: 13 years teaching all levels in both urban and suburban settings, as well as 21 years of site and district level administration. Dr. Bowers’ leadership in schools focused on ensuring equity of access, experience, opportunity, and outcomes through systemic change and sustainable community partnerships, creating unique opportunities for all students to graduate with the skills needed to contribute and thrive.