Kimberly Austin

Kimberly Austin is a Senior Director, Research Strategy at the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University. Through her work at CPRL, Austin leverages her nearly 15 years of experience in organizational change, program design and implementation, and research methodologies to prepare graduate students to serve public sector organizations.

Prior to joining CPRL, Austin was the Interim Director of Research and an Assistant Professor at Relay Graduate School of Education in New York. In this role, Austin managed and designed data management systems and oversaw the execution of the institution’s research agenda while also teaching and mentoring beginning career teachers.

In 2011, Austin earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago, and her dissertation was supported by the National Science Foundation and the American Educational Research Association, among other institutions. She has published studies on school improvement, professional development, and technology in education. She has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and a M.A. in sociology from the University of Chicago. She started her career in education as an early elementary teacher.