Kim Williams-Pulfer, Ph.D., is an independent scholar and the principal consultant of KWP Research Strategies LLC.
Kim has worked as a researcher, educator, and community-based advisor for over ten years. She earned her Ph.D. in Philanthropic Studies with a minor in Caribbean Studies at the Indiana Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. From 2023 to 2024, she is an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow (ACLS), and from 2022 to 2023, she was also an ACLS Leading Edge Fellow.
Kim's research has been published in various academic journals and edited volumes, as well as practitioner and popular forums.
She has shared her insights at numerous research conferences and community and nonprofit training sessions, enriching the academic and professional community with her knowledge.
She has also taught and developed training and learning opportunities for various audiences, including nonprofit and philanthropic practitioners, community leaders, civic activists, and artists.
Kim's research and teaching interests also reflect her personal journey. Growing up in The Bahamas among community leaders, she was inspired to reconsider how identity, history, and its legacies shape philanthropy and civil society.
Her new book Get Involved: Stories of Bahamian Civil Society (Rutgers University Press, June 2024) combines her training, insights, and community-grounded research to explore the idea of 'philanthropy from below.'
For creative and equity-minded leaders, organizations, and communities that strive to build spaces of authentic belonging
I create learning and engagement experiences as a catalyst for social change.
Key Services
Community-Engaged Research, Assessment, and Planning
Working alongside community members to shape research and planning projects that value local aspirations while solving critical challenges.
Culturally Competent Learning and Evaluation
Helping leaders and organizations identify impact or stakeholder needs while tailoring learning and evaluation to honor and include everyone’s cultural background.
Qualitative and Interpretive Research
Digging deep with interviews, focus groups, and ethnography to understand how people think, feel, and want to achieve social change.
Training, Workshops, Speaking and Coaching
Offering dynamic sessions with a focus on topics like cultural identity and leadership, and inclusive decision-making.
Experiential, Community and Equity-Based, Curriculum Design
Crafting learning experiences that are hands-on, community-focused, and fairness-forward.