About Us
Our Partners
We support leaders who are ready to transform their industries by creating inclusive, performance-oriented cultures in which women are fully engaged and valued.
By designing systems and cultures where all women thrive, we help women to reach their full professional potential and organizations to gain a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining great talent, reimagining markets and building meaningful companies.
The Gender Lenz Team
Dr. Kara Sammet
Principal, Founder
Dr. Kara Sammet is the Founder and Principal of Gender Lenz LLC. Dr. Sammet (pronouns: she/her) received her PhD from UC Berkeley in Social & Cultural Studies and Measurement, with an Emphasis in Gender, Women and Sexuality, and a BA in Women’s Studies from UW Madison. She has designed and implemented leadership programs and inclusive environments for twenty years, and developed diversity initiatives sponsored by Google, Chevron and Clorox. Prior to Gender Lenz, Dr. Sammet was a social impact measurement expert and SaaS product manager/designer for a research center at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a wilderness expedition leader for Outward Bound.
Dr. Frank Schultz
Senior Consultant
Dr. Frank Schultz is a faculty member in the Economic Analysis and Policy, and Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations Groups of the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley. Prior to completing his PhD in Strategic Management, Dr. Schultz worked for Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Chevron and Pillsbury, as well as two entrepreneurial ventures of his own. Dr. Schultz has his MBA in Finance/General Management from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in Strategic Management from the University of Minnesota.
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Kimberly R. Houston
Senior Consultant
Kimberly R. Houston has more than 35 years leadership experience in business, philanthropy and fund development. During the last 10 years of her Fortune 500 tenure, Kim held the positions of Chief Diversity Officer, Global Community Relations Director and President, Dow Corning Foundation. In these roles, she led the strategic development and implementation of innovative initiatives to positively enhance the company’s public reputation. Kim transitioned to fund development in 2012 and headed Central Michigan University’s Corporate and Foundation Relations activity until November 2016. Kimberly launched her consultancy in 2013, where she advocates passionately for leadership development, succession planning, enhanced diversity and cultural inclusion.
Jennifer John
Senior Consultant
Jennifer John is committed to improving the sophistication and outcomes of gender mainstreaming strategies, particularly in the business realm. She brings experience as an early driver in the field of gender lens investing - which you can learn more about here. As a Program Director with Criterion Institute, she ran the Women Effect Investments Initiative. From there Jen created a consulting offering, Gender Lens Capital, where her work included research and strategy design for clients spanning major foundations, start-ups, and leading academic institutions. She has spoken and written widely on gender lens investing and contributed to the development of the field's first book, Gender Lens Investing: Uncovering Opportunities for Growth, Returns & Impact. Jen has an MBA from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and a BA from Dartmouth College.
Dr. Heeju Jang
Senior Consultant
Dr. Heeju Jang received her PhD from UC Berkeley in Education, with an Emphasis on Quantitative Methods and evaluation. She is passionate about helping people develop the ability to forge strong relationships with others through authentic, compassionate and effective communication, which is critical to unlocking people’s true leadership potential in today’s organizations. For the past 10 years, she has been the lead analyst on numerous research and evaluation projects designed to improve the implementation and impact of Engagement and Learning policy, curriculum, course design and delivery. Previously, she worked for Stanford University, Stanford School of Medicine, and the University of California-Office of the President. She is a candidate at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Interpersonal Dynamics Facilitator Training program. Dr. Jang has a MA in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from UCLA, and BA in philosophy from CSU East Bay.
Kiku Johnson
Content Strategist
Kiku Johnson hails from a human development, design thinking, and visual arts background, and uses these to create progressive, culturally and gender expansive, passionate, and community-centered environments. Kiku was previously the National Program Director with Girls Leadership, leading curriculum design, professional development and management of 100 educators nationally. Kiku was also a corporate trainer with Whole Foods Market focused on hiring and customer relations best practices. Kiku is the Associate Director of One Circle Foundation, promoting research-based resiliency programming. Kiku is always seeking to instigate, impact, and support relational pathways and systems with individuals as part of a team, delivering and brokering intentional, compensatory and asset-based services.
Consultant
Chase Zwissler consults for cross-sector organizations that focus on social, environmental, and economic justice. He supports clients with strategic planning, web development, and marketing. Chase previously worked as a project manager for Verizon, where he utilized his skills in diversity management and communication to lead a team implementing network solutions for a top Fortune 20 company. Chase has a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership (Summa Cum Laude) from Arizona State University, and is completing a Masters in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.
Our Values
Intersectional Inclusion
Our practice incorporates an intersectional approach to gender that is also necessarily inclusive of race, age, sexuality, gender identity, ability and immigrant status. Composite gender demographics obscure the reality that progress is not being made equally for all women. White women, in particular, have benefitted most from gender equity efforts in male-dominated fields. At Gender Lenz we believe in using our access to a seat at the table to amplify the voices of ALL women.
Cultivated Courage
Speak up and be honest. Engage in constructive conflict. Challenge assumptions. Give timely feedback. Reward courageous conversations and risk-taking.
Measurable Results
Define success. Plan for impact and assess it. Â Measure, acknowledge and celebrate progress. Be transparent about accomplishments, shortcomings and lessons learned. Hold yourself and your peers accountable for individual and collective improvement.
Participatory Engagement
Gender Lenz utilizes a participatory model for our strategic services and organizational change management efforts that rely on full, voluntary collaboration, mutual understanding, and shared responsibility.