Dr. Katherine (Keri) Randolph

Keri currently serves as the Executive Director of Chattanooga 2.0, the cradle-to-career collaborative of Chattanooga-Hamilton County, Tennessee. Previously, Keri served as the Chief Strategy Officer for Metro Nashville Public Schools where she worked to align resources with the strategic plan to support students and increase student achievement. In this role, she oversaw the investment of more than $600 million dollars in federal relief and entitlement dollars and philanthropic investments. She designed and led strategic initiatives including Navigator, Accelerating Scholars (high-impact tutoring), Promising Scholars (summer learning), and postsecondary success initiatives including University You. She previously served as the Assistant Superintendent of Innovation at the Hamilton County Department of Education and as the Vice President of Learning at the Public Education Foundation in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  She was one of the original architects and leaders of Chattanooga 2.0, and she helped launch and lead the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Children’s Cabinet. Keri began her career as a biochemist but quickly found her true love- teaching. She taught high school science for 10 years in North Carolina and has worked for more than 15 years in educator preparation programs in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Prior to returning to K-12 to serve the students of Nashville at the start of the pandemic, Keri served as Director of PreK-12 Programs and Professor of Practice at Tulane University in New Orleans. Keri earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, and a master’s of science education from East Carolina University. She was awarded the doctorate in Educational Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2020.