Kahlea Hunt-Khabir joined SHEEO as a state policy intern in June 2024.

Kahlea is a dedicated researcher and scholar in higher education. She is a doctoral student studying higher education, student affairs, and international education policy at the University of Maryland, with a concentration in higher education. Her research focuses on access and equity, organizational change, critical pedagogy, epistemic violence, and postcolonial theories in education. Kahlea is the lead research assistant for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary System Opportunities – Evidence & Strategic Analysis grant.

Kahlea graduated from the University of Denver in 2020 with a master’s in higher education, emphasizing diversity and learning. At DU, she was the program coordinator for the Denver Promise Scholars Program and principal investigator for Seeking Grace: Mining the Archives of Black Women at DU (documentary). She has worked on research projects in Brazil, South Africa, Cuba, Jamaica, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. She believes the answers to solving global racial inequities are in our similarities and differences. Her most recent article, “Not MY Intersectionality: Examining Epistemic Violence for Black Women in Higher Education,” was released in the summer of 2023. Kahlea’s work reflects her commitment to addressing systemic challenges and promoting equity in higher education.

Outside of work, she enjoys trying new restaurants, recipes, and trails.