معرفی
Kim Saunders serves as Director of Special Services for the Kodiak Island Borough School District (KIBSD), overseeing the district's largest department encompassing special education, early childhood programs, counseling, mental health services, and social work. Concurrently, she has held an adjunct faculty position in the teacher education program at Kodiak College (University of Alaska Anchorage) for nearly a decade.
Her educational foundation includes a BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences and a Masters in Special Education from Portland State University (2001), followed by classroom teaching experience at Northstar Elementary, Kodiak Middle School, and Peterson Preschool.
Kim's professional mission centers on creating inclusive environments where all individuals feel safe and supported, extending from special education to broader social justice initiatives. Her work emphasizes community-driven solutions, early intervention for children with special needs, and building educator capacity through mentorship. She champions the philosophy that "every adult interaction with children contributes to making the world better," focusing on authentic connections and accessibility.
In leadership, Kim manages complex operations including grant administration, staff supervision, program design, and community partnership development. Her recruitment strategy for Kodiak Island leverages the community's natural beauty and tight-knit support networks to overcome challenges of remoteness and limited state benefits.
She leads KIBSD's pandemic response with resilience, emphasizing team synergy over individual burden. Notable achievements include establishing early intervention systems for children with ASD and creating support pathways for vulnerable families facing addiction or lack of childcare. Kim's approach centers on "being all in" with teams that share her urgency for change, rejecting conventional work-life balance in favor of collective impact.
