Dr.Julie Payne- Kirchmeier

I have been in Student Affairs and Higher Education for 30 years, starting right after I graduated from college. My guiding principles have always been around centering the student that you have in front of you, not the one you wish you had, and centering the people that are with you doing the work, because if you burn them out, nothing works. I describe myself as a system designer for students, and that's been a through-line my entire career. Whether it's a housing project, an entire strategic plan, or a university or systems approach to overall student success, it's about who do we have, what do we know about them, where are their friction points, how are we fixing that and testing it, and then how are we scaling it. That's where I stepped out into this consulting world, and that's what I offer up to institutions now. I'm the President and Senior Partner of Edgefield Group, the organization that we founded. I do executive coaching for senior leaders, facilitated workshops, keynote addresses, executive advisory calls where folks put me on retainer just to say they need to be able to call me because of the experience and demonstrated outcomes I have in this kind of work. I also handle all the administrative pieces, from sending out invoices and proposals to putting together marketing materials. You're on a tight ship with 3 or 4 people, and that's it, but that in and of itself is fun too. It's a lot of founder and entrepreneurial energy, and I thrive in that space.