Contact Information

+1 919 680 5711
email

Duke Corporate Education
310 Blackwell Street
Durham, NC 27701
USA

Kathleen Ponder

Director of Learning Methods

Kathleen Mary Ponder is responsible for globally stimulating and scaling Duke CE’s innovative, break-through approaches to executive education. 

Prior to assuming her current role, Kathleen held a number of leadership roles at the Center for Creative Leadership, including Director of Global Design and Evaluation Services and Director of Education and Non Profit Groups. During her 13 years at the Center for Creative Leadership, she and her teams designed innovative blended learning leadership development initiatives intended to close the ‘knowing – doing gap’ and she continues to explore methods for ensuring that leaders and organizations truly transform after attending educational experiences. She has also authored tools and processes designed to help executives choose leadership development experiences that truly impact their business challenges, including the Leadership Development Impact Assessment.

Kathleen has extensive experience customizing and delivering leadership development processes for senior leaders in the U.S., Europe, and Asia in the areas of global leadership, change, cross-functional and cross-organizational strategic relationships, senior team dynamics, and CEO intra- and interpersonal leadership excellence. Her extensive research has addressed the same topics, with more than 30 journal articles, books, and chapters written. Most recently she authored a chapter on university president leadership and a new book on leadership development design methodology is in progress. She has worked with a variety of organizations, including pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, food products, insurance, entertainment, education, and U.S. Military Generals and Admirals.  

Early in her career, Kathleen proudly held several senior leadership roles in public education for the deaf as a principal and assistant superintendent (she still signs fluently) and was a faculty member at the University of North Carolina and the University of North Texas. 

Kathleen earned her B.S. at S.U.N.Y., New Paltz in Speech Pathology and Audiology, her M.Ed. at McDaniels College in Psycholinguistics and Education, and her doctorate from the University of North Texas in Curriculum and Counseling.  When she's not working, Kathleen enjoys life in the woods of Hillsborough, N.C. with her husband, Gerald.