Dynamic Creative Trusted
reimagining what’s possible in the classroom
The greatest joy of my 30+-year career has been pushing student thinking and helping teachers reimagine what’s possible in the classroom. At the heart of that work is a powerful inquiry practice: the art of asking meaningful questions that spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and transform learning.
More than a decade ago, I returned to Seattle after working in Buenos Aires, Argentina with Teach For All. Inspired by what I’d seen in classrooms around the world, I founded Inquiry Partners, a consultancy dedicated to helping teachers and school leaders bring inquiry-based practices to life.
From the beginning, this work has been deeply collaborative.
My first partner, award-winning teacher and Teachers United executive, Erin Gustafson, helped to develop our early workshop models, film inquiry in action, and connect with school districts. Tech-savvy entrepreneur Amy Satin Spinelli later joined to help build new technologies that allow teachers to collect data and refine their question-asking practice.
International School of Portland teacher, Paola Gagliardo, led the translation and publication of my book Experience Inquiry into Spanish (La Experiencia de la Indagación) and co-facilitated workshops in South America. Namu Kulkarni brought early learning expertise into our work and expanded opportunities to work in Southeast Asia.
But the most important partners in this journey have always been the educators themselves.
Over the years, thousands of teachers, coaches, students and school leaders have worked alongside Inquiry Partners; testing ideas, refining questions, and reimagining classrooms through inquiry.
Because the best questions don’t just change lessons.
They change how students think.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a respected global leader in inquiry-based instruction. In addition to founding Inquiry Partners, she is the author of Experience Inquiry, and a sought-after speaker / inquiry coach.
In her over 30 years in education, she’s held a variety of roles. She was a full-time lecturer at the University of Washington's College of Education, a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation leading education strategy grants in several U.S. states, and Director of Partner Engagement for Teach For All in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Kimberly served as Vice Principal at Chief Sealth International (International Baccalaureate) HS in Seattle, WA and Elementary Principal at American Community School in Athens, Greece, where she successfully launched the International Baccalaureate (IB) PYP program in 1998. Kimberly started her career with Teach for America (TFA) in 1991 as a corps member in Compton, CA. After TFA, she continued teaching in Compton before teaching and interning with principals at Colegio Americano in Quito, Ecuador and Hollenbeck Middle School in East Los Angeles.
Kimberly is the past Chair of the International Baccalaureate Americas Regional Council and an Honorary Chair of the Ambassadors Board at the University of Washington College of Education. She holds a BA from Skidmore College in Philosophy and Intellectual History and an MA from Stanford University in Administration and Policy Analysis.
Kimberly and her EDU 310 students at the University of Washington in Seattle
“I seriously don’t know what I would’ve done without Kimberly, for real. I appreciate everything she did for me. She was a life saver. Actually, no, a life builder!”
