Leadership | WhitworthKee Consulting

Dr. Molly Matthews-Ewald (she/her) is the Director of Research at WhitworthKee Consulting, with more than 15 years of research and evaluation experience. Her main expertise and interest areas are focused on reducing health and educational inequities and increasing access to both, particularly among under-resourced and disenfranchised populations, though she also has experience in diverse content areas. She focuses on using asset-based and equitable approaches to research and evaluation work. She is highly experienced in mixed-method research designs and analyses; program evaluation; creating data collection tools; and planning and implementing a variety of studies including feasibility, pilot, research, and evaluation projects. She has previously served as Project Director, Project Lead, Principal Investigator, Task Lead, Advisor, and Quality Assurance Officer across the Federal, state, local, and philanthropic/nonprofit/foundation sectors. Dr. Matthews-Ewald holds a Ph.D. in Public Health Sciences with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Health, from West Virginia University. She earned her Master of Science in Exercise and Health Studies with a concentration in Health Promotion, from Miami University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Leadership minor, from Christopher Newport University.

Ebbers can be considered the “godfather” of community college leaders in Iowa. Ebbers was a member of the faculty at Iowa State University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies for decades. In his role, he served as director of the Community College Leadership Program and director of the Community College Leadership Consortium, and the Leadership in the New Century programs. In addition, Ebbers played a key role in developing and promoting Iowa’s community college system, as well as championing the advancement of women and people of color as leaders in higher education.

Among his many awards are the Council for the Study of Community Colleges’ Senior Scholar Award and Distinguished Service Award, the American Association of Community Colleges’ National Leadership Award, and the NASPA Latino Network “Amigo” Award. Additionally, Iowa State recognized Ebbers with the Corly Brooke Learning Communities Advocate Award, ISU’s Presidential Service Award, the ISU Outstanding Achievement Award for Professional Practice and Outreach, and an ISU Alumni Association 2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Ebbers received both his doctorate degree in education and master’s degree in agricultural education from Iowa State University.

Dr. Shanéa Thomas, LICSW (He/She/Dr.) is a bold lecturer and seasoned scholar-practitioner with more than 15 years of professional social work experience in the Washington D.C. metro area. His main commitment is training and strategizing with social workers, educators, and service providers around building safer therapeutic and educational spaces for all people. This is especially for those working in communities who are underserved and under-resourced, and those identifying as Black, Indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQI+ folks. Dr. Thomas has facilitated over 60 workshops centering diversity, equity and inclusion needs, grief and loss, mental health, sex and gender, and LGBTQI+ populations, and featured at Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Virginia, and national organizations such as NPR and the Human Rights Campaign. When creating organizational change through strategic planning, Dr. Thomas’ work unapologetically centers marginalized voices with community organizations and healthcare institutions to help shift power, privilege, and organizational accountability.

For the past ten years, Dr. Thomas has dedicated her time as a Senior Lecturer for the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work’s Virtual Academic Center. Dr. Thomas is currently a Research Associate for WhitworthKee Consulting. Dr. Thomas is now focusing his work and research on workplace burnout and support, death, grieving, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people post-COVID and the 2020 Racial Uprisings.

She is a proud alumnx of Virginia Tech, Howard University, and Widener University holding a BS in Psychology, a Masters of Social Work degree with a concentration of Direct Services (Families and Children), a Masters in Education, and an Advanced Certificate in Human Sexuality Studies, respectively and an EdD in Organizational Change and Leadership through the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Whether through trainings, workshops, or supervision, Dr. Thomas is humbled to be using his gifts to serve the community.

Dr. Beatty’s research interests include leadership learning, addressing issues of equity in higher education, socially just leadership learning. Dr. Beatty has experience conducting qualitative research and document analysis. He holds a B.A. in sociology and African and African American diaspora studies and an M.S. in higher education student affairs, both from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Iowa State University School of Education.

Dr. Bahena’s research interests include K-12 education policy, college access, program evaluation, and scale development. Dr. Bahena has experience working with English/Spanish bilingual communities, parents, and families, and conducting both quantitative and qualitative analyses. She holds a B.A. in business administration and sociology from Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) and an Ed.M. in human development and psychology and Ed.D. in cultures, communities, and education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Tatiana Patterson is a Research Assistant and Project Manager at WhitworthKee Consulting where she is responsible for assisting with developing evaluation protocols to include the development of logic models, focus group guides, and survey questions.

Dr. Kevin Hylton is the Vice President of Research and Evaluation at WhitworthKee Consulting where he is responsible for establishing and directing the company’s research and evaluation priorities. He is an accomplished researcher with over 20 years of experience in program evaluation, policy analysis, research design, and project management centered around improving educational inequities and health disparities among underserved populations. Dr. Hylton’s experiences include managing multiple, highly visible multi-million dollar contracts with diverse government agencies.

Dr. Santa-Ramirez’s personal and professional experiences in higher education – and identity as a scholar-practitioner-activist – have played formative roles in the development of his research agenda, which centers the lives and knowledge of historically marginalized and economically neglected students. His scholarship investigates campus racial climate, first-generation students’ sense of belonging, college student activism and resistance, and the various ways race, ethnicity, and im/migration inform the educational experiences of collegians who are Latinx and undocu/DACAmented. Dr. Santa-Ramirez holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Evaluation from Arizona State University (Phoenix, AZ), where he also obtained a certificate in socio-economic justice, a master’s degree in Student Affairs Administration from Michigan State University (East Lansing, MI), and a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from West Chester University (West Chester, PA). Dr. Santa-Ramirez also has a certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida’s College of Business. Dr. Santa-Ramirez is a Research Associate for WhitworthKee Consulting providing expertise and knowledge to guide research and organizational assessments centering diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Chad Kee is the founder and CEO of WhitworthKee Consulting. WhitworthKee Consulting is an education consulting firm providing professional development, technical assistance, and research and evaluation services to educational organizations. He holds a master’s degree in Sociology with a focus on urban education and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a higher education concentration. His academic training has equipped him with skills in research and evaluation, educational policies and practices, and postsecondary administration. Dr. Kee has occupied several professional experiences in educational leadership over the past 15 years in addition to serving as an Assistant Professor at Morgan State University. Some of the positions include Director of Multicultural Affairs, Associate Director of Student Leadership Development, Grants Manager for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for DCPS, and CTE Coordinator for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

Dr. Glymph’s research interests include addressing issues related to education and health equity. Dr. Glymph expertise lies in quantitative research and program evaluation of educational and health equity programs in K-12 education. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in social psychology both from Howard University.

Offering Advanced Skills and Expertise

Meet The Team

Our Leaders

Chad E. Kee, Ph.D.

Larry Ebbers, Ph.D.

Kevin Hylton, Ph.D.

Molly Matthews-Ewald, Ph.D., MS

Tatiana Patterson

Sofia Bahena, Ph.D.

Shanéa Thomas, Ph.D., LICSW

Cameron Beatty, Ph.D.

Angela D. Glymph, Ph.D.

Stephen Santa-Ramirez, Ph.D.

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