Kim’s research focuses on understanding how teacher and student wellbeing factors are related to school organizational climate; specifically, she investigates topics such as social-emotional learning, teacher collaboration, and teacher burnout. Kim's current role as Behavioral Health Coordinator also requires her to lead data collection, assessment, and analysis for ongoing projects and programs, and to coach teams on data-based decision making to increase school climate for staff, students, and families. She has been fundamental in the support of developing MVYPS' school climate cycle and the administration of the EDSCLS system-wide. She also supports the use of system-wide assessments on social-emotional learning.

     Kim has presented on her research at professional conferences for organizations such as:

• American Education and Research Association,

• American Evaluation Association,

• National Council for Mental Wellbeing,

• Eastern Evaluation Research Society, and

• the Society for the Study of Human Development.​

While at UR, she was the recipient of numerous awards to support her travel to present on her research. She also co-authored a chapter on the use of social network analysis in education ​that describes the theories and analytic methods associated with social network analysis (SNA), and considers the application of SNA in educational policy research (see Finnigan, Luengo, & Garrison, 2018). Kim conducted her independent research assistantship under the mentorship of Dr. Kara Finnigan using Chicago Public Schools data to look at the structural and systematic effects of principal mobility in its schools.

In addition to the ongoing program evaluation that Kim conducts in her role at MVYPS, she has also worked with community organizations and school districts to evaluate their programs and policies as a part of the school improvement and strategic planning processes.

     Since her time at the Center for Educational Reform and Professional Development, where she contributed to numerous large-scale evaluations, Kim has independently supported evaluations and strategic planning in education, non-profit, and community organizations. In 2019, Kim guided the strategic planning process for Grace Episcopal Church, which has led to completing a large-scale capital improvement project for 'greening' the building. As a 2020 Martha's Vineyard Vision Fellow, Kim led a feasibility study for a School-based Health Center at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, which is now being planned through a partnership with a local health organization. Also in 2020, Kim supported ACE MV, a local community education non-profit, in its design of a study on young persons' (ages16-26) education and workforce needs on MV. This project was a collaboration with the Rural Scholars program at UMass Chan Medical School and the Dukes County Health Council. In 2023, Kim helped to designed and implement a two-month long process for listening sessions and surveying that informed the Massachusetts Episcopal Diocese search for a new bishop. 

     Kim has also been successful at transforming evaluation into funding. She has used evaluation of school mental health programming at MVYPS to secure just under $2M in funding in competitive grants over the course of three years. These funds support MVYPS to scale up the comprehensive school mental health system that Kim had supported in its design, and to support positive school climates in its six schools.

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Currently, Kim subcontracts with Walker Solutions in Needham, MA to provide ongoing consultation, coaching, and professional development in data-based evaluation practices, school climate cycles, and continuous improvement science.

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Kim is trained in multiple coaching modalities, which she incorporates into her personal coaching style. Her coaching style integrates leadership and transformational coaching, data coaching, and elements of motivational interviewing into a style that can be used to support individuals, teams, and organizations in various contexts.​​

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Data Coaching:

In addition to her extensive research experience, Kim has expanded her expertise in data coaching and literacy practices since 2008; empowering professionals, educators, and teams to make informed, data-driven decisions. Drawing on established frameworks such as

• Collaborative Inquiry (Love, 2010),

• Continuous Improvement (Carnegie Foundation, 2024), and

• Data Wise (Harvard, 2024),

she supports organizations in building capacity, fostering collective efficacy, and scaling data literacy to drive meaningful and sustainable improvement.

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Transformational Leadership & Personal Devleopment Coaching:

In 2017, Kim completed the Leadership Coaching Certificate Program, an ICF leadership coaching program supported by Ramerman Leadership Group and partnered iwth University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. In 2025, Kim became certified as a transformational life coach through Brave Thinking Institute.

 

Leader Effectiveness Training: Kim is a certified trainer in the full suite of Gordon Effectiveness Training models. Effective Training focuses on building confident and productive communication skills for leaders, parents, and individuals; and an evidence-based six step conflict resolution model that can be applied across life contexts. Not only is Kim an independent facilitator of the Gordon Skills Model, she has completed these trainings herself as both a leader and as a parent. Now, she is leading her own workshops and excited to work with leaders and teams in developing their own strengths to overcome interpersonal conflicts and resistance in organizations. Kim believes that the Gordon Training International's effectiveness training model is a key solution to many organizational and personal challenges.