Dr. Katherine (Keri) Randolph

Keri Randolph serves as the President of the Benwood Foundation. Previously, Keri served as Executive Director of Chattanooga 2.0, the cradle-to-career collaborative of Chattanooga-Hamilton County, Tennessee; and as Chief Strategy Officer for Metro Nashville Public Schools, where she launched the district vision of Every Student Known and oversaw investment of more than $600 million. 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.